The New York Times did an interesting piece about the wealth of the British monarchy and how everything is divided up. When he was Prince of Wales, King Charles III transformed the Duchy of Cornwall into a billion-dollar real estate empire, one which provides the current PoW/Duke of Cornwall with a substantial personal income. Now that he’s on the throne, King Charles III has control of the monarchy’s vast and secretive fortune, which also includes real estate, jewels, artwork, plus cash and investments. Some interesting highlights from this Times piece:
The Duchy of Cornwall: While his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, largely delegated responsibility for her portfolio, Charles was far more deeply involved in developing the private estate known as the Duchy of Cornwall. Over the past decade, he has assembled a large team of professional managers who increased his portfolio’s value and profits by about 50 percent… The 130,000-acre real estate portfolio is nearly the size of Chicago and generates millions of dollars a year in rental income. The conglomerate’s holdings are valued at roughly $1.4 billion, compared with around $949 million in the late queen’s private portfolio. These two estates represent a small fraction of the royal family’s estimated $28 billion fortune. On top of that, the family has personal wealth that remains a closely guarded secret.
Tax-free: As king, Charles will take over his mother’s portfolio and inherit a share of this untold personal fortune. While British citizens normally pay around 40 percent inheritance tax, King Charles gets this tax free. And he will pass control of his duchy to his elder son, William, to develop further without having to pay corporate taxes.
British austerity: The growth in the royal family’s coffers and King Charles’s personal wealth over the past decade came at a time when Britain faced deep austerity budget cuts. Poverty levels soared, and the use of food banks almost doubled. His lifestyle of palaces and polo has long fueled accusations that he is out of touch with ordinary people. And he has at times been the unwitting symbol of that disconnect — such as when his limo was mobbed by students protesting rising tuition in 2010 or when he perched atop a golden throne in his royal finery this year to pledge help for struggling families.
Relevance: Today, he ascends to the throne as the country buckles under a cost-of-living crisis that is expected to see poverty get even worse. A more divisive figure than his mother, King Charles is likely to give fresh energy to those questioning the relevance of a royal family at a time of public hardship.
The rest of the piece explains the changes Charles made to the Duchy of Cornwall, how professional he made it, how it’s run like a real company now. He was an activist-duke too, very involved with the day-to-day operations of the Duchy. I think there’s a suggestion that he will do the same now that he’s king, he’ll want more of a say over the daily operations of the Crown’s portfolio of real estate and businesses. Keep in mind, he was already taking over a lot of that stuff from his mother. Charles has transformed Sandringham (a private property which he has now inherited tax-free) into a for-profit enterprise with a gin label and various organic farming ventures. And yes, all of this looks f–king awful when (by all accounts) it will be a very hard winter for the UK. Watch this space.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- King Charles III with Queen Consort Camilla inspects flowers and tributes left for his mother Queen Elizabeth II outside of Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK on Friday 9 September, 2022.,Image: 721052321, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- King Charles III and the Queen Consort at Westminster Hall, London, where both Houses of Parliament are meeting to express their condolences following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.,Image: 721928710, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefan Rousseau / Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles III at the presentation of Addresses by both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, inside the Palace of Westminster, central London on September 12, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.,Image: 721936686, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph / Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort listen as The Speaker of The Commons Lindsay Hoyle (unseen) speaks during the presentation of Addresses by both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, inside the Palace of Westminster, central London on September 12, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.,Image: 721936899, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: BEN STANSALL / Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles III speaks during the presentation of Addresses by both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, inside the Palace of Westminster, central London on September 12, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8.,Image: 721936912, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: BEN STANSALL / Avalon
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- King Charles III and the Queen Consort during a visit to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.,Image: 722078768, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- King Charles III and other members of the royal family hold a vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.,Image: 722078870, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
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- King Charles III and the Queen Consort leave the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.,Image: 722079339, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- King Charles III and other members of the royal family hold a vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.,Image: 722079493, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jane Barlow / Avalon
That’s what the life of “selfless” service QE is being praised for got her. It pays to be the first out of the royal uterus.
Perhaps he might offer to pick up the bill for these endless bloody shenanigans. & for his putative coronation when/if that ever happens.
I’ve gone from being gently republican to absolutely fire in my belly, paid-up member of Republic, off with their heads Vive la Republique.
Heartily sick of each & every one of them
now make him pay inheritance tax, which his subjects’ are forced to do. Would be a lovely way to repay the involuntary tithes his family have fleeced us of for centuries.
If Jeff Bezos were a king I guess. Run the little people ragged to get what you want. However, even though Charles has no regard for family outside of William, Camilla and Anne maybe he can show a sliver of sensitivity to the struggling people. Maybe a fund for heating costs or money for food banks? Charles is in a tough spot because he can’t be seen as criticizing the government.
I LOVE that the NYT is running these articles. (it may just be the same article that I’ve been seeing, but they’ve been talking about this for a few days now and it keeps circulating on my social media.)
first, it puts the idea of “service” into context – yes, the queen lived a life of “service” and she was dedicated to her country, but she was compensated for it, more than fairly. which is okay if you consider it to be her job, but then let’s stop talking about her life of service with such reverence. I’m a federal employee, I work in public service, and I am paid for it. When someone retires we talk about their dedication to the public or whatever but they’re not on a pedestal bc of it, you know?
And I also love how it highlights how little we dont know about the royal family and their money. 28 billion – is that referencing the Crown Estates? because then it mentions their personal wealth on top of that.
I’m glad that this is getting more attention. Royal fans (even people on here) always dismiss the wealth as “it belongs to the crown, its not the royal’s personal wealth” but that overlooks that there IS extreme personal wealth. For example, I always bring up the Cullinan diamonds. One of those is in the sceptre that is part of the Crown jewels, and one is in the crown itself. Queen Elizabeth owned 4 or 5 of the cullinan diamonds personally. Not crown property. I and II belong to the crown, like 3-7 (something like that) belonged to the QEII. But they hope people forget about that and just focus on “the crown.”
You should be reading The Guardian. Some of their commentary this week has been thought provoking and will likely be more pointed after the funeral.
Years ago I remember reading how QEII was the richest woman in the world, or among the top 5 or something. And that was personal wealth, not ‘crown’ wealth. Also that she was the largest landowner in the UK. Again, personal ownership, not ‘crown’ properties. And now Chuckie gets it all. Will he stop accepting bags of cash now? Or is 28 billion not enough?
Plus, all those things Chuckie was criticized for–the living in palaces, playing polo, riding on a gold throne—those are all things Willie Boy does, too. Like father like son. He’s not going to be any better.
It is interesting that NYT is looking, but is it widely read in UK? The royals irritate me because they messed with Meghan, a fellow American I admired for her professional and philanthropy work. But that’s not enough emotional investment to want to dig into opaque finances of Duchies of Cambridge and Lancaster, or anything else to expose these grifters, especially not if end result wouldn’t be appreciated by British public clinging to monarchy. Since I couldn’t even figure out how Brand Finance (or anyone else) calculates value of monarchy contribution to economy, it’s just easier to say my tourist $$$ won’t go there.
correction – Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster
I am interested in seeing how much actual control and access to the duchy William is given. He doesn’t strike me as having the business acumen or emotional intelligence to manage a portfolio of that size.
First, I am impressed he grew the DoC. But this article just drives home the fact that this family has expired and there is credence to the argument: but how will they sustain themselves if the monarchy is abolished. They will get on quite well.
Time to boot them out!!!
It’s less impressive when you hear about how the people IN the duchy of Cornwall are treated:
https://youtu.be/TGamLrHlikc
When Diana said Charles wouldn’t be a good king, it was with insight into his cruelty and entitlement that we on the outside don’t have.
He thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to rule like the middle ages. The serfs must give their due to him.
Thank you for the link. I plan on watching. I think he is deplorable but I guess due to the laziness of his son, I was impressed he actually made something grow – other than his ego.
It’s remarkable really that an uneducated young woman, sickened by being thrown into the maelstrom, could see that Chuck is basically a spoiled brat. Would be nice to see 10-20 yr SXS comparison of Duchy income against his charitable endeavor (prince trust?) to see how much of his own income he’s clung to while hitting up foreigners for cash for mummy’s (Mey?) castle, etc. Not saying he’s not charitable, but s/b in context with resources, i.e. how many bags of cash does he need and what good has come out of receiving them?
Lurker25 – Thanks for the link. I’d watched something similar before, but I’d completely forgotten Chuck’s fixation on homeopathy! Saw some article theorizing Chuck used homeopathy when he got COVID-19 in March 2020. LOL it’s NOVEL coronavirus, don’t think quacks had concocted dilution for it that early.
Sad that Essex professor had to retire. Unfortunately Brits seem ok with their monarchy and their media mostly makes money by keeping readers dumbed down and riled up about Meghan and Harry.
Re: Edzard Ernst, Exeter professor profiled in the youtube luke provided – surprisingly for the otherwise pro-monarchy Daily Beast (Tom Sykes 😮💨) Ernst was given a few opinion inches “King Charles Is a Passionate Supporter of Fake Science.” And Ernst has used his retirement to write book, ‘Charles the Alternative Prince.’ Chuck did eventually avail himself of covid vaccine, but he’s also talked out of both sides of his mouth about alternative meds, etc.
Hi @Seraphina I agree he grew the DoC but was it for-profit? Why all these stories about the suitcases of cash? Why was he for sale to the highest Saudi bidder if the Duchy was profitable? He didn’t just sell access to to himself but he also sold British citizenships and OBEs. None of this screams “I have money”.
Hi B, all great questions. Personally, I’d love to see it all go to to shit. The Duchy back to The people, the stolen gems and the like back to the countries they were stolen from let them fend for themselves.
They stopped being “Royal” when they started peddling condiments for profit. This family could end the cost of living crisis and still have more money than they will ever need. These are their subjects and they could care less.
And they bash Harry and Meghan unmercifully and unceasingly for “commercializing” themselves since they left. It’s the supposed reason they were denied half in/half out. To me, there’s no difference between Netflix and Spotify for the Sussexes, and Duchy Original chutney or Sandringham gin for Charles. I guarantee that if Harry and Meghan had been permitted half in/half out, they would have made their money, but they would still have worked harder at their royal duties than any of the other royals who “live a life of service.” That’s who they are. But because of the media supporting Charles’ and the Queen’s retail endeavors, the usual double standard would have applied – Harry and Meg bad, Charles and the royals good. They don’t even try to hide it any more.
I love how the DF was frothing at the mouth at the NY Times for pointing out that….taxpayers are paying for QEII’s funeral? This is a fact, as far as I’m aware, but apparently it is “anti-British” to even mention it.
Wasn’t it reported that William had an “engagement” today or yesterday where he spoke to the Duchy finance people over Zoom? Interesting that one of his very biggest priorities was to ring up his new staff and say SHOW ME THE MONEY! I guess the only thing required to get him off his tuchus and working was to dangle millions in front of him…
That sucking sound you hear is him Hoovering the money out of that account faster than it will be going in. We should start a pool about how long the accounts will be solvent once he gets access to it. Extra houses and buttons and coat dresses and wiglets and helicopters aren’t cheap, you know…
The British press has been outraged this week by these NYT pieces. I’m loving it. If the British establishment doesn’t want to tell the truth outsiders will do it for them.
I’m sure they are outraged. Enlightening the masses is always frowned upon by those in the establishment. And they get their bread and butter from one establishment in particular.
It’s all very Wizard of Oz…..”pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
God, 28 billion is revolting. Does anyone know how this compares to the wealth of the the royal families of Spain, Denmark, and Sweden? Are those entities subject to their countries’ normal taxation laws?
Just think of the food banks that would fill, and all the homes that would be comfortably heated this winter if he helped subsidize the citizens’ costs – especially for the pensioners, who for some reason still believe he cares about them, as they ride the bus all day to stay warm because they can’t afford the heat at home. He could do so much to help his subjects, and it would still only take a tiny portion of his portfolio. Wealth like that – as is true for the billionaires here – is obscene.
@AmyC: wikipedia has a page detailing the *personal* wealth of the top royal families. So not including Crown estates.
Thailand, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco are top, then Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Spain, Qatar, and Monaco. Then QEII’s *estimated* personal wealth. And Beatrix of the Netherlands following Charles’s estimated worth.
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden aren’t even mentioned, so I’d assume rank much further down.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_royalty_by_net_worth
totally disgusting. 28 billion dollars and 100,000+ acres of land, making money off the very citizens he is supposed to serve and WHY? because ancestors 1,000 years ago invaded and captured and subjugated, and then kept up their racket for the next millennium, colonizing and enslaving and spoiling and pillaging across the globe. All of it is blood money.
I truly don’t understand the point of the royal family and have had multiple conversations with British friends about it. Where does all this “personal wealth” come from? Some of the public jewels, land, etc have horrible histories that are well know so how awful is the “private” stuff..and why do they need a significant portion of money kept private? Give me a break.
I really hope Charles either doesn’t have a coronation or it is very very low key.
So tell me again why the public has to fund so many things for the BRF, if they’re sitting on 28 billion?
They should pay the same taxes as everyone else, should pay for their own palaces, etc. I do think he handled the Duchy very well, and does pay income tax on that, but all of the profits should be going to charity now.
Think they made that clear last week
They sign the Crown Estates over to the HMG (£16 bil ) and the Crown then get 15-20% of the £500 mil profits back to pay for the Palaces/Sov Grant depending on how much works needs doing and it has been at the high end because BP had all sorts of issues
Corwall goes to William and Lancaster goes to Charles
Victoria bought Balmoral herself and Edward VII bought Sandringham well he got married (and donated Osborne House to the state ) – when her uncle abdicated her dad had to pay him for Balmoral and Sandringham as it was his house as he was the older brother
Remember how there was no money to pay for Meghan, and they wanted her to continue acting? Let me just say, Willy might be the new duke of Cornwall but I bet my right and left button that Charles didn’t give him that money, he got a small fraction. Charles isn’t stupid, he is not giving Willy and Kate his money he earned to piss away. He knows how lazy those two are.
And yet H & M are accused of “monetising” their royalness. *rolleyes*
It’s an obscene anachronism that the BRF got that rich by basically plundering, looting and enslaving non-white countries. And what do the majority of their subjects get back? Over-priced condiments and gin. At a time when so many people are struggling to put food on the table, pay rent and heating for their homes and get decent health care, the royals continue to live high off the hog very visibly. Vive la révolution indeed!
Let me guess; Harry will not see a penny of the British royal massive secretive fortune. Why won’t he you might ask. Because he married a bi-racial American woman, and because he chose her over the crusty stuffy royal family who wanted him to abandon her that’s why.
No it is because he is the younger brother
And how is it secret when the HMG knows exactly how much it is ,and do reports on it every year and it is publishing its own report every year
https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/annual-report-2022/
That’s the Crown Estate fortune. Charles just inherited a massive personal fortune that is purposely kept very secretive and they try to confuse the public about how much the monarch has and where the money comes from.
how do you think Liz paid off Andrew’s legal settlement? that wasn’t crown estate money.
And I’m guessing when he dies, Charles’ will will remain secret for 99 years, just as his father’s is & most likely his mother’s is (no announcements on that, yet). We’ll never know what, if any, he leaves to either/neither/both of his sons.
Harry might get something from his granny in her will that will be kept secret for 100 years.
I thought it was more than 28 billion? To paraphrase Ivana Trump’s lawyer in her divorce pay out, he can’t even get his nails done on 28 billion.
And this is why Charles plans to send William & Kate out to poor communities. They can be his human shields while Charles sits upon his hoard like a dragon.
UK media is big mad that the royal finances are being discussed. Charles & Camilla are being booed in Wales right now. Any fondness or even benign disinterest the public had for the monarchy seems to have died with Elizabeth.
I immediately had a vision of Smaug sitting in the cavern, hoarding all his gold!
The rich get richer.
Yet there is still a monarchy. British press still obsessed with a couple of California runaways is just purposeful distraction so the Royal family keeps making $ at the people’s expense. The people of Britain need to start looking past the pomp, the cute kids/manufactured drama to what counts, the money trail.