The Rich Man in his Castle

 The private property empires that fund the King and Prince William are making millions of pounds a year from charges paid by the armed forces, the NHS, schools, mining companies and big businesses.

An investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches has revealed full details of the vast ancient estates owned by the King and the prince and the business deals struck to fund their lifestyles.

The Coming Storm
John Miller Nicholson (1840-1913)
Photo Credit: Manx National Heritage [CC BY-NC]  

Over five months we identified 5,410 landholdings, mineral rights and properties held by the Duchy of Lancaster, on behalf of the king, and the Duchy of Cornwall, for the prince, and then examined business agreements and leases linked to these plots. These contracts show the duchies generate profits by charging the army, the navy, hospitals, the prison service, schools and councils for the right to use lands, rivers and seashores seized for the duchies in medieval times.

Last year the Duchy of Lancaster raised £27.4 million for the King, and the Duchy of Cornwall raised £23.6 million for William to pay for their private homes, personal income and staff. The duchies disclose only basic details of their assets and their activities in their annual reports.

They operate as commercial landlords while holding a special status exempting them from paying corporation tax on their profits, and capital gains tax on assets they sell...

Other investigations found that the duchies impose levies for the right to cross rivers or dump waste in them; offload cargo on to the shore; run cables under their beaches, operate lifeboats and a public lavatory; and even dig graves. They make revenue from toll bridges, ferries, sewage pipes, pubs, churches, village halls, distilleries, gas pipelines, rental homes and wind turbines.

The Duchy of Lancaster has a deal with Guy's and St Thomas's NHS trust in London that will charge the NHS more than £11 million over 15 years for the right to park ambulances in one of its warehouses. The Duchy of Cornwall receives rent for Dartmoor prison in a contract under which the Ministry of Justice will pay £37 million over 25 years for the right to house prisoners there, although the building was constructed at public expense...

(Insight, The Sunday Times, 2024)

No real surprise here. Ordinary people pay their taxes for the army, the navy, the NHS, Education and the prison service. But...

The rich man in his castle

The poor man at his gate,

God made them high and lowly

And ordered their estate.