The British press is making a point of doing very little to amplify the Times and Channel 4’s investigation into the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall. The duchies are “private” in the sense that King Charles and Prince William make tens of millions of pounds annually from them and the income is virtually tax-free. What the Times and Channel 4 revealed is that a huge chunk of the income comes from the duchies collecting millions in “rent” from public services, the military and charities. This should be a major story, headline news across Britain, right? While there has been some coverage in the major newspapers and tabloids, none of it has come from the royal rota, the reporters who are tasked with covering the Windsors full-time. Omid Scobie pointed this out last night:
This group of royal editors are responsible for the royal coverage in Britain’s newspapers. And while further reporting on a story of this magnitude is in the public’s interest, it’s not in theirs. To them, the Palace’s needs will always be more important than yours.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) November 4, 2024
As many of us have noted before, the royal reporters and commentators are stenographers to power. They are not independent journalists capable of speaking truth to power – they are merely the propaganda arm of the British royal mafia. Which is why – we’ve always said – when the rota is freaking out about something to do with the Sussexes, it’s because the rota has been directed to do just that by their real handlers, the Windsors. Meanwhile, the Mail’s non-royal reporters are the ones doing meaningful follow-up stories on the Times’ investigation:
The King is under pressure to refund the cash-strapped NHS after it emerged he is charging one trust at least £11.4million in rent to store a fleet of electric ambulances. An investigation found the private estates of both King Charles and Prince William make millions of pounds from the NHS, the Armed Forces and charities. Land and property owned by the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall is also rented out to schools, mining companies and big businesses, among others.
The investigation found the Duchy of Lancaster, on behalf of the King, has a deal with one London trust that will see the NHS pay more than £11million over 15 years for the right to park ambulances in one of its warehouses. Documents show the duchy is earning £830,000 a year from renting the two-storey warehouse to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.
Dennis Reed from campaign group for the elderly Silver Voices, told The Mail: ‘I think it is disgraceful actually, given the NHS is under so much pressure, for the Royal Family to charge for ambulance parking and other NHS uses. [It] sounds rather like a money-grabbing activity. And I would hope because of the publicity there will be a rethink in the Royal Household.’
The astonishing findings show: The Duchies have struck deals worth at least £50 million with public services such as the NHS, state schools and the Armed Forces; The Ministry of Justice is paying £37.5 million over 25 years to use Dartmoor prison, which is currently empty because of radon gas; Charles and William have made at least £22 million in rent from charities over 19 years – sometimes while serving as their patrons; Homes rented out by the royal estates fail government energy efficiency standards and leave tenants struggling with mould; Prince William, who tomorrow heads to South Africa for his eco Earthshot Prize, has allowed controversial mining companies to drill on Duchy of Cornwall land.
Yeah, Charles should absolutely refund the money to the NHS. But it’s more than that – there should be a real audit of the duchies AND all of the royal accounts, including the Crown Estate. These are threads which need be explored and investigated fully, especially considering that much of this bullsh-t is based on land grabs from the 14th century. It’s insane.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.