The British channel Channel 4 broadcasts a documentary entitled The king, the prince and their secret millionsthe result of a five-month investigation with the Times, into the origin of the royal fortune.
“For years, members of the royal family have kept the details of some of their wealth secret.” The British channel Channel 4 broadcast on Saturday an investigation carried out with the Sunday Times, on the origins of the fortune held by King Charles, estimated at 610 million pounds (approximately 727 million euros) and his son Prince William.
The documentary, titled The King, the Prince and their Secret Millions (The King, the Prince and Their Secret Millions), looks at the properties of Charles and William in the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which each earned them millions of pounds.
Argent public
Although the Duchies boast on their website that they cost the British taxpayer nothing, this is not entirely the case. The royal family in fact earns “millions of pounds each year by charging ministries, councils, corporations, mining companies and the general public through a series of commercial rents and feudal levies on land largely seized by the monarchs of the Middle Ages”, underlines the Times.
These properties therefore drain a lot of public money. Thus, the public health system (NHS) pays the king's duchy the rental of the warehouse where its ambulances are parked, for a sum estimated by the Times at 11.4 million pounds over 15 years.
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The Ministry of Justice pays 1.5 million pounds to the duchy of Prince William to use Dartmoor prison. The Times cites numerous other examples.
More than 5,400 properties
According to this five-month joint investigation, the two duchies hold more than 5,400 land and property properties, which bring the royal family at least 50 million pounds. This money allows them to support their lifestyle and support their philanthropic works.
The Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster are lands acquired by successive sovereigns in the Middle Ages, the revenues of which they were allowed to retain in the 18th century, when the Exchequer took control of the Crown Estate. “), all the property owned by sovereigns.
If they were able to keep these duchies, it is in particular because they brought in little, underlines the Times, adding that the situation has changed significantly in recent decades. According to the Guardian, this investigation has sparked calls for a parliamentary inquiry. In 2005, parliament had already tried to regain control of these duchies, judged to be devices from another age.
The investigation also points to the poor energy performance of part of the real estate owned by Charles and William, which constitutes a definite contradiction with the very “green” speech of the king and the prince.
