It never fails to amuse me that Britain’s sycophantic royalist media cannot get on board with Prince William’s environmental efforts but they absolutely HATE his homelessness projects. William’s decision to center himself in a palace-produced documentary about homelessness seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. The gloves are finally off. The Daily Mirror is piggybacking on Channel 4 and the Sunday Times’s investigations into the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy of Cornwall is the vast real estate network which brings in something like $30 million annually for Prince William. A good chunk of those profits come from sh-t like “charging charities, the military and public services exorbitant rental rates.” But some of the money comes from old-fashioned private-home rentals. As it turns out, William is a sleazy slumlord, at least according to an investigation done by the Daily Mirror. You can read the full piece here.
Scores of rental properties owned by Prince William fail to meet the minimum legal energy efficiency standards for landlords, we can reveal. We found some of his tenants are at risk of fuel poverty, living in hard to heat homes that are riddled with damp and black mould. Our investigation with Channel 4 Dispatches has found that as many as one in seven of William’s inherited Duchy of Cornwall’s residential rental properties have the lowest Energy Performance Certificate ratings of F or G.
It comes as the taxpayer is funding a £369m renovation of Buckingham Palace and Prince William launches his campaign against homelessness and for “everyone having a right to a safe and stable home”. One tenant said: “The slick PR will stick in the throat of many tenants. He should start by bringing the homes he already owns up to modern standards.”
The Duchy has more than 600 rental properties and over a 15-month investigation we identified nearly 500 of them. We found 50 Duchy properties rated F and 20 rated G, including six properties with the lowest EPC score of one point out of 100. We spoke to a number of tenants on condition of anonymity who are living in cold, poorly insulated homes, often without central heating and many relying on the most expensive solid fuels for heat. It has been illegal since 2020 for landlords to rent out properties that are rated below an E under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations without a valid exemption.
Since the new rules, Prince William and the previous Duke of Cornwall King Charles III have between them received £91m in profits from the Duchy. One tenant with no central heating spends hundreds of pounds a month on coal and wood to heat just two rooms in his house. He told us: “It gets miserably cold especially in the winter, you can see through the roof. I can only heat two rooms in my home using a wood burner and a coal fire, and the landlord told me that my rent was going to be put up considerably if they put in radiators. There is mould appearing on soft furnishings and clothes because the air is so cold and damp. To make my property efficient it needs to be insulated but they won’t do that because of the cost. But you don’t want to say anything against your landlord for fear of eviction. There could be consequences.”
Another elderly tenant with no central heating and just one fireplace for warmth was under a blanket when we visited his home in early September. A third told us: “The house is freezing. We were told that it is uninhabitable. When the wind blows the curtains start swinging. There’s no heating upstairs at all. I asked about double glazing and they said Prince Charles doesn’t like it. Well he doesn’t have to live here.” A fourth said: “The house is cold and it is a struggle but there is nowhere else to live here. They are not good landlords.”
Campaigner Jonathan Bean, a spokesperson for Fuel Poverty Action, said: “It’s a disgrace that a billion pound royal estate appears to be acting like a rogue landlord. And getting away with it. King Charles and Prince William have profited from renting out property that fails to meet even basic standards. These low standards cause misery by making heating unaffordable, leading to major health risks from cold and mould. F and G rated homes can cost three times more to heat, which is unaffordable for those on lower incomes. Renters are scared to complain about grim conditions, for fear of being evicted or subjected to rent increases. People are forced to suffer in silence. This royal mess demonstrates the fundamental power imbalance at the heart of this country’s broken housing system. Tenants may have rights in law, but in reality they are at the mercy of their landlords.”
The Mirror points out that landlords can apply for exemptions to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations, and that the Duchy of Cornwall has applied ten times, usually citing that “the work would cost more than £3,500 to complete.” THAT is what is especially outrageous to me – yes, it’s appalling that William is a slumlord, but he literally inherited this vast real estate network which provides him with $30 million a year or more, and he is too stupid, cheap and lazy to do really basic upkeep on his properties. The homelessness expert and keen environmentalist is a slumlord who traps seniors in freezing, moldy rentals which cost thousands to heat. And instead of just doing adequate eco-friendly updates, William wanders around, calling himself a credible environmentalist.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
I am glad they name-checked Charles in this. They both deserve the credit.
They are environmental hypocrites
I’ve lived in the NLs about two decades. When I first lived here, we rented and later, when we could afford it, we bought flats/ a house. I have literally never seen housing here with anything less than an E label (lived in a dank, centuries old appartment–I much prefer modern to “charming” is a lesson I’ve learned). I cannot imagine what F and G label homes are like!
Prince William absolutely DESERVES this expose. He’s done diddly squat with mental health. His environmental credits are shaky, celebrity advertisements to prop up his own image. And now, his push to provide housing meets how he provides housing to his tenants. It’s criminal that a multi millionaire who has multiple estates to call his own can apply for an exception to upgrading homes because it would cost more that £3,500! And it’s shocking that his renters are petrified that he will evict them if they go on the record with their complaints.
It is the right time. Tomorrow starts earthshit. Very successfully as usual his dream shit starts with controversy.
Just my thought: he is an egg not because he looks like an egg. He just try to hatch up everything and failed miserably. Never hatched, remains as an egg.
Dying 🤣🤣!! The EGG that never hatched!
He is always on the cusp of achieving great things, even now in his 40s. Doesn’t he ever get as sick of that f–ing cusp as the rest of us?
I don’t think it’s an expose. There is no illegal activity involved. It’s like an exit plan of some kind.
On the farm we call unhatched eggs duds.
I wonder what brought this on. Channel 4, thr mirror, the Fail. The latter has allowed their comment sections to be filled with criticism about W and K, which they didn’t before. What is happening?? Is this the result of WanK’s stupid f u to the press strategy?? Or the H and M hate doesn’t bring he clicks anymore?
It was Channel 4’s Dispatches. I don’t know how the DM can claim to have investigated with Channel 4; I think Channel 4 came first & everything else just piggybacked off that. They’re the ones who investigated Andrew. They typically work with the Times and the Sunday Times. DM investigated nothing. Or made a few calls or website searches afterwards.
Channel 4/Dispatches. I posted the link yesterday on another thread and watched it last night. DM loves to claim things but has done nothing about this.
It’s not the DM that investigated, it’s the Mirror. And they said somewhere that it was joint with Dispatches; I imagine if that’s not true Channel 4 will clarify.
I noticed the sudden shift too… the entire timeline since the Rose Hanbury story broke seems ‘managed’, including this story with William’s homelessness documentary, and just 4 days later this investigative report detailing the billionaire royal landlords’ rents charged upon the British people – even for Royal owned rental toilets in their public meeting space.
All timed to be overshadowed in the ‘background’ of a historic, teeth-clenching US election.
Seems like William started this timeline of events right after the Rose Hanbury story. He is successfully closing the door on the press and the public in a most clever multi-year timeline of events.
Name-checking Charles is just for the oblivious readers who can’t see what’s bloody obvious. There’s no way that TEN exemptions was undertaken by little Willy alone – that was inherited from grubby dad. No wonder Willy tried to invoke the ghost of Diana, whom he labeled paranoid. Didn’t want anybody to see he’s just chip off the old Chuck.
Charles and William promptly replied with some news about cutting Andrew off and some more smear campaigning against Meghan.
At last the truth is revealed. I honestly hope it brings changes for the folks who are suffering because of this putz
Imagine if his self important documentary had focused (at least in part) on learning about his tenants and fixing up these places for them and coming up with a plan for regular improvement and maintenance? It would have been a completely different vibe.
It would have been more Harry and Meghan’s vibe, frankly.
Right? If he had any sense of truly wanting to help, and bone in his body that wasn’t pure selfishness, and even just an ounce of charisma, he could have turned the whole thing into an HGTV-esque style series following the renovations to some of these homes. He could have easily blamed his dad, which we know he loves doing, as the longest running head of the duchy for the problems and made himself the hero (as we also know he loves doing), and he would have curried genuine favor in doing all this.
Like, they could have tried to become the next Chip and Joanna Gaines/Bobby Berk from Queer Eye etc, but instead…. his whole homeless schtick now reads as just trying to distract from his slum lord ways.
Modernizing the heating on all those houses would have had significant impact; that’s how he could have made his mark. But no. He would have had to spend some of his millions.
@BeanieBean – one would think modernizing the heating in his rentals would go a long way to meeting both of his stated goals of reducing homelessness and environmental waste.
He should be forced to live in one of his own heatless hovels for a month this winter. See how he likes it.
That’s the thing – all the royal palaces, homes and cottages have this issue too. Remember the Adelaide cottage stuff with how Harry has to duck his head under lintels etc? This is normal living standards to the Windsors. But they have the finances and the staff to manage it so they never have to think about.
What a bunch of flying ignormi.
@MrsMuffins … Not for Harry and Meghan, and Kate and William. Both couples have renovated their royal properties to bring them up to modern code. And Harry lived in Nottingham Cottage, not Adelaide Cottage (which belongs to William and Kate). where he indeed had to duck his head to move between rooms and improvised an open space closet for his clothes.
The £2.3 million Frogmore Cottage renovation addressed several things. Structural: Replaced ceiling beams and floor joists, rewired the electrical system, and installed new gas and water mains. Interior: Added a grand staircase, installed fireplaces in the main rooms, and added a yoga studio. The renovation basically, turned a four or five servant apartment building into a one family home. Landscaping: Extensive landscaping was added for privacy. Other: Two conservatory extensions and an eco-friendly green energy unit were added as well.
William and Kate didn’t suffer at all after their £4 million renovation of their Kensington Palace apartment. The renovations included structural repair. asbestos removal, a new roof, electric rewiring, new plumbing, new floorboards, wall repairs, and a new kitchen.
I couldn’t find much on the renovation of Anmer Hall excepted that it cost nearly £2 million and included planting trees, moving the main gate/drive entrance, and moving/rebuilding the kitchen in the center of the house.
A television show of WanK having to make do living in one of his properties before the problems got corrected would be very amusing.
@ Yvette, don’t forget moving the tennis court over a few feet so it wouldn’t affect the view from the kitchen windows!
Yes! Like that Joe Pesci movie, The Super! 😂
Wil liam must be raging. Serves him right.
Yes, fcuking finally!! I hope the british press won’t let them get away with throwing some staffers under the bus, claiming they didn’t know.
The Egg is incandescent!
Slum lord? Well that explains the scraggly dirty looking beard. He wanted to look the part of slum lord. He and Chuckles are a disgrace to the UK people.
trump level of taking from charities!’
Having worked in affordable housing in DC, slumlords don’t have scruffy beards. They have custom tailored suits and giant Mercedes. They enrich themselves on other people’s suffering, which pretty much describes the last 1,000 years of British monarchy.
Well Megan this one does. It’s scraggly and dirty looking. Not all of them wear suits and ties just because you knew of some doesn’t mean you know what they all look like.
I met many. They look like Jared Kushner, slumlord extraordinaire.
Again this one has a scraggly beard. But then I’m no an expert on what slum lords look like I just see this one and he has a scraggly beard on his face.
Absolutely horrendous. I hope this brings a lot of attention on the issue.
I’m fairly shocked at the three prong attack here – the Times, Dispatches and this in the Mirror. The timing feels very deliberate, in between William’s documentary, Earthshot and Charles’ Australian tour.
Same. Feels like someone wants to rattle their cage, but why. Have the media finally had enough of coddling these two dweebs?
Yes, I just asked a similar question below. A 15-month investigation? And why attack now?
@Eurydice – could it be that The Times are furious KCIII and his heir were unable to stop Harry’s lawsuits? William may have received a 6 figure sum from Murdoch to stay stum but, it makes me wonder if keeping Harry quiet was also part of the deal.
I asked the same above before reading your comments. Why now? What is happening behind the scenes that brought this on? I’m not at all surprised by the synchronized attack, the fawning goes the same way.
I’d say, for the why now, QEII died. Nobody likes Charles.
I am very surprised the Times was involved and even the Mirror.
It also looks bad that they don’t want to spend 3500£ to fix things for tenants but kate steps out in something far more expensive than that every time she leaves the house.
a la Marie Antoinette, thoughtless and insensitive extravagance.
I’ve been getting that vibe about KM for some time now. Even the recent rustic rambling in the woods video channelled Marie Antoinette’s antics at Petit Trianon, where she liked to dress as a shepherdess in a pretend farmyard.
When Kate was fine with taxpayers paying to renovate her kitchen twice at KP, she showed just how much she doesn’t care about spending other people’s money.
No, Kaiser is correct. This specific piece about William being a slumlord was in the Mirror and part of a Mirror/Dispatches investigation. The Times piece seemed to focus more broadly on the revenue streams while this piece investigated the residential rentals.
Peggy is being DRAGGED on UK twitter over this – esp after his little show about homelessness that bombed as no one watched it.
I don’t have hope that this will shame them into doing something to better the living standards of those people who live there – it won’t, they will just ignore it and carry on shamelessly.
There is also a Panorama show about this that also exposes the deals they’ve struck with the NHS, armed forces etc.. to lease land to where, again, they have done nothing to maintain the properties/land. Its shocking but again nothing will happen as they are shameless.
@DU, do you know the title of the panorama show?
Its actually a show by Dispatches (the Channel 4 investigative programme), Panorama is the BBC version, my bad.
The show is called, DISPATCHES: The King, The Prince and their secret millions. If you live in the UK you should be able to stream it from the Channel 4 website (for free).
Someone here had mentioned before that they rent out property to municipal and government agencies for exorbitant fees and the taxpayer funded tenants pay for the upkeep themselves, on top of the rent. Disgusting
What with this and the Dispatches exposé, this has not been a good weekend for KC and PW. The tide has really turned. It’s about time.
Such greed. As if they don’t already get enough from the public purse, they’re creaming off yet more millions from charities and public services. Even the NHS. Including during COVID. They are an absolute f*ng disgrace.
But honestly, the arrogance and hypocrisy of PW lecturing to everyone else about homelessness, while this tenant situation is going on under his nose.
Usually, I just smirk at William from afar, but this has gotten me angry. What an effing, effing loser – how stupid, greedy and lazy can one man be? I’m not excusing Charles from this – most of the problem comes from his watch – but William’s been swanning around about how he’s going to be different and world-changing and he hasn’t even noticed the mold rising up under his nose. If that isn’t a metaphor for the monarchy’s decline, I don’t know what is.
What I find super interesting is that the DM have been conducting a 15-month investigation. Why? And why have these results not turned up before. Were they squashed by KP, was this documentary the opportunity to come forward?
How much do you suppose is greed and how much straight up lazy ignorance? I could totally see him rubber stamping all sorts of arrangements because he’s too lazy to actually find out what’s happening.
So his homeless initiative is basically to collect more rent and income from the various organisations that have partnered with him.
I wonder if the random celebrities that have associated themselves with Will are having second thoughts. The stench of the RF’s hypocrisy is hard to ignore.
It’s also just come out that he messages staff on WhatsApp seven days a week regarding work. No sign of any meltdowns, unlike a certain duchess’s emails at 5 am that included a note saying they might be on a different time schedule and shouldn’t feel pressured to reply immediately.
I’m finding it really difficult to believe that William messages anyone about work more than once in 2 weeks. Scobie once said that KP staff was used to hearing from their principals once a month which is why Meghan’s work ethic was such a shock.
What work?? 😭😭 They are probably messaging about H&M. That is the only work KP is doing.
He probably out of beer and chips , that’s all I could see him caring about.
That’s my guess, he may be messaging staff but it’s not about work per se. It’s about Harry, it’s about royal lodge, it’s about making sure he and Kate don’t cross paths unless absolutely necessary.
Is suspect a lot of this work is telling them what to tweet in his name.
I can only imagine it in the context of throwing tantrums to his comms staff about tabloid articles about himself or Harry.
Yea that was pretty jarring to read. I actually 100% believe that he’s messaging his DUCHY STAFF 7 days a week. Trying to keep up with all those real estate deals, transactions, making sure he collecting payments, etc. It’s such a bad look. Like, when hes supposed to be working for the tax payer he is instead basically working at his own job except his job is to fleece the taxpayer? These are not public servants. They are millionaire slumlords masquerading as princes. Abolish the monarchy.
That’s what I’ve suspected since he got the Duchy. He doesn’t do shit with his KP staff and public role, because he is busy skimming money off the Duchy. I’m sure he is a lazy asshole, and has never worked hard for anything in his life, but I do think that he is more busy now that he has the Duchy. Simply because he wants all the taxfree profit he can get his hands on.
Maybe that’s why he lost weight! He has to do something EVERY DAY!!
WhatsApping the slaves to rearrange PW’s version of PA’s teddy bears.
I’ve been saying that my issue with his homelessness project was that as a landlord he’s part of problem. I didn’t know that he was a slum lord as well. And I’m not excepting the excuse that he’s only had the Duchy for two years. He used to get regular briefings about the Duchy when he was the Duke of Cambridge. I’m just sorry he used a prominent housing activist to gain support for his homelessness project.
He’s totally going to throw Charles under the bus!
No doubt but Charles is not innocent in this.
And KC will sic the Roweiler on him. I can’t wait.
For some reason I never had Slumlord on my crimes of the British royal family bingo card.. but it is not that surprising. Chuck and Peggy cost tax payers 1/2 a billion pounds a year and through the duchies the charge rents to public services which are taxpayer funded so essentially making the taxpayers pay even more income for their greedy pockets. So millions are paying twice for five people.. are Chuck, the M-W, WanK, Georgie, Lottie & Louie worth so many children going hungry, hospitals closing or the elderly living with a choice between heat and food? What money is wasted on those five people a year would solve most of the very real issues facing so many. Someday Brits will realize the BRF has done far more harm to the country than any good and stop funding them completely.
Astounding that it takes this long for the report
to be filed on the two duchies.
Charles and William should at least aspire to be the best landlords in UK . They are exempted from paying corporation tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
They get so much money from this and still said they couldn’t afford to pay for Meghan.
I’m so glad they are getting dragged for this. This is absolutely disgusting.
Right! Wowzers, couldn’t afford to support Meghan so she should keep working, all while they made tens of millions a year???
Exactly. What are they doing with all this money? The Queen and Charles always appear to be so frugal and worrying about money. Charles pretending that he cannot afford to give Andrew £1 million is total rubbish. He could afford to pay for Harry’s security when he is in the UK too.
What is wrong with these people?
Loathsome. I suppose he cannot afford to replace his tenants’ windows or upgrade their heating because it would cut into his helicopter fuel budget.
Puts as much effort into maintaining his properties as he does maintaining his appearance.
Wouldn’t you check to make sure that your rentals were above board before releasing a documentary on homelessness?!? The amount of money it would take to fix these properties is peanuts to them. They should be ashamed that they allow their “subjects” to live that way. This is 2024 and not 1664.
I’m guessing the documentary probably cost more.
Shame on them.
Wait, do you really think the upgrades would be inexpensive? From the pictures I’ve seen, those homes are in shambles. I figured it would take about two years worth of income.
They could still afford it. My guess is, since this was on Charles’ watch for the most part, he didn’t want to modernize so that they could keep the ‘charm’ & maintain the historicity of these places. Remember his Transylvania town? The no cars, no modern anything? I bet it was his preference.
One house we lived in when I was a kid was built in 1910. The only source of heat was a gas stove in the dining room & a fire place in the living room. Oh, and an electric wall heater in the bathroom. It had casement windows & mullioned windows which were so cool! But my goodness, did they let in the cold. The living/dining room areas were closed off from the bedrooms, which had zero heat. I remember doing my homework in my bedroom while wearing a coat, hat and glove on my left hand. The right hand had to freeze because I couldn’t hold a pencil with a glove on. And I could see my breath. No mold in that place, thank goodness; although in the spring when local orchards were smudging you’d wake up in the morning with that oily stuff on your bed covers & have to blow your nose a few times.
No real way of knowing the expense of upgrades from over here in USA. However, assuming the same rate of substandard housing throughout 600 rentals as discovered in 500 rentals (10% rated ‘F’ and 4% rated ‘G’ implies 84 total substandard units (10% x 600 = 60 ‘F’ units) + (4% x 600 = 24 ‘G’ units)). Knowing 3500£ triggers the automatic exemption application, it’s realistic to expect actual cost upgrades to exceed the baseline. Let’s assume it would take 10000£ ea to fix the 24 ‘G’ units, and 5000£ ea to fix the 60 ‘F’ units for a total estimated cost of 540,000£. So what if that estimate is low, it still pales in comparison to £23M duchy income.
As others have noted in this post, the probable cost of fixing the moldy rentals (with rotted wood window frames that Chuck prefers) is far less than the £2.6m that Chuck collected in bags of cash from Qatari friends. Given this information there’s really only one way to describe the duchy and tax supported royals – they are BLITHERING IDIOTS with the PR instincts of badgers burrowing in the dirt.
I’m guessing William just assumed the BM wouldn’t check him on his shit. But they have. Shockingly. I do wonder how much it’s going to be quickly swept away though. Like this should be on the front covers of all the papers daily. But the DM didn’t even cover it from what I can tell.
I mean… They barely covered Charles getting handed bags with millions in cash from the Bin Ladens so…
That would require a certain degree of foresight and intelligence, and I’m guessing William isn’t up to par on either count.
You don’t need to check anything when you rest assured that the press would never reveal anything too harmful about you ever.
At last, what we’ve suspected for a long time now revealed in joint exposes by channel 4, the Times and the Mirror that Charles and Willy rake in millions from feudal rents on schools, hospitals, prisons,ferries,wind farms, sewage works, mining, the fire service, the army, the navy and worst of all charities, some of which they are patrons. Added to that we were shown that they were de facto slum landlords, with only blustering excuses that it’s a legitimate business EXCEPT they pay no taxes and already get an annual £132 million sovereign grant from the government.
They really are just a bunch of out of touch grifters, lying,betraying and backstabbing each other in a popularity contest for any good press.
I love this for them, the timing is perfect, post the tv flop Ending Homelessness, the tone deaf response at CHOGM to the notion of reparations followed by an exclusive getaway to an Indian spa and pre the earthsh*t awards, good luck to the rota rats polishing these turds.
Postscript: given that channel 4 was blocked twice from airing this programme- can you imagine the kind of things they had to remove given what has made the cut is so devastating!
Wait…what? They had to remove stuff? Who ordered that?
I’d love to know what was removed.
From what I’ve seen on Times Radio, The Times has an interactive map so people can just point and click to get deets on locations spread throughout UK.
Finally something even the royal reporters can’t twist into a story about Harry and Meghan!!!
Not yet, but the devil works hard.
And Cowmila harder…
Lol!
The article in the Times was quite devastating too.
Apart from mentiong the abysmal living conditions for some of the tenants of the DoC, they also list such obscure things as virtual crossings of an imaginary border by containers in the harbor of Liverpool that are then calculated and charged to the handling companies.
Apparently the seabed in the Mersey estuary is also owned by C and/or W.
Which poses the question of the Crown *directly* profiteering from the slave trade, and not only in some sort of esoteric — shrouded in the darkness of the past — indirect way, as C and/or W have suggested. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed that someone will start digging.
Archived link for The Times — quite long, but eye opening:
https://archive.is/2Dj2H
We will have the Times story tomorrow. It’s all connected to the larger investigation, so this is not threadjacking, but please – we will absolutely have additional coverage.
I feel like between this and the election and Earthshot…..you’re going to need a vacation after this week Kaiser 🤣
@becks1 word. She’s going to need a trip to that Indian spa
Sorry, my bad.
I should have guessed you were working on other aspects, despite having all that last minute election stuff to deal with too.
Looking forward to it — and will watch Dispatches tonight.
Oh, wow, now that is interesting. I only recently learned about the whole ownership of the seabed thing as I recently got a job with the Navy–which owns the seabed at its bases. Although it seems like in England it’s Charles and/or William who may own the seabed at naval bases?
This is disgusting. It sounds like something out of a Dickens novel. Let’s see how this buffoon reacts. The name Harry better not pass his lips on this one.
Harry needs to come back and help William fix this and help run the Dutch. Poor William can’t do all that work and take care of Kate. Tomorrow’s story line.
I doubt harry would help unless he and Meghan het public apologies from William and Kate and Charles calls off the media and b o t s. I doubt this will ever happen though
Reading a Dickens right now. Not even he could have imagined this level of slumlordery.
Abolish the f***ing monarchy already. Force the petty tyrants to support themselves.
Absolutely. They’ve been protected for so long. I am surprised this came out, since the entire British media has been protecting them and participated in the abuse of Meghan, including highlighting her awful dad and half-siblings.
Wow, these articles and tv programmes are really damning. And poor housing/indifferent landlords are things many many people have personal experiences with so it could do them some significant reputational damage.
I hope they’re shamed into spending the money to properly maintain their rentals and provide those poor people with warm, dry, mold free housing. The amounts required for upkeep are so minimal for such rich people – it’s vile that they’ve been too cheap to sort out out before.
I’m sorry but HOW is anyone giving them an exemption from the law of maintaining commercial rentals with the argument maintenance costs money???!!! No shit thats kind of the deal when you own property that you rent out. YOU are responsible for the normal upkeep of the property and since slavery is outlawed you are expected to pay for the work and material. 100 houses × 3 500 cost so 350 000 pounds what is that not even a suitcase full of cash 🤬
Dont forget all the tax breaks they’re getting.
They’re not like us.
That too!
My point is that old habits die hard they are so used to make money without putting in own effort or investment. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to get an exemption from modern slavery rules just like they did with discrimination rules. Labour laws are not their faves. Dreaming of the days of victorian chimney sweepers I’m sure.
Like the exemptions the RF receives from environmental laws, from anti-discrimination laws…the list goes on and on? It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!
@Dark perfectly said! 10/10, no notes.
Is the media finally rebelling against the invisible contract? It would seem so but why now? Earshot is coming soon; is there a connection?
I can say I was very surprised. I think Harry started by exposing them, and there’s a wind of change from younger generations. Social media certainly hasn’t helped the RF in continuing their millennial old farce.
Yeah, people were confused why the press did this – especially a murdoch pub, but anytime he starts chasing more liberal projects, they pull his chain. This time they did it very hard, which is intriguing because this will do lasting damage and it dents him for his Earthshot thing this week.
This is gold. I’m fascinated by the motives for the media doing actual journalism for once.
This also isn’t the kind of thing thrown together at the last minute. The Mirror article above notes that this was a 15 month investigation and the Dispatches coverage was pulled twice already. So the palace has known this was coming for a while and the 1-2-3 punch of the Times (a reputable paper), the Mirror (more of a tabloid) and Dispatches (TV) means this is going to reach a LOT of people.
This isn’t just about Williams homeless project.
I’m thinking it’s because QEII died. Charles didn’t have as much rapport with the people as she did. Nobody will ever think of him as the nation’s grandfather, as they thought of her as the nation’s grandmother (if indeed that’s the case, but that’s what the sycophantic press always told us).
Whew, if the palace knew this was coming? Did they think these reports would hold their punches? Did they feel that cocky that the BM would protect them? Bc William doing this homelessness doc while knowing this story was coming is wild.
Well, he is that stupid. He also probably didn’t read his briefings on it, just passed it along to his lawyers.
The invisible contract isn’t really working for them – hopefully this opens the flood gates and the media throws ALL their skeletons out of the closet. Its about time the UK press held them accountable.
Oh Karma, sweet Karma! Welcome! Step right on in and take a load off!
These three reports, Dispatches, ST, and the Mirror really couldn’t have come at a worse time for Pegs. Two days after his “I’m going to end homelessness” and about a week (?) before 🌎 💩. He’s a slumlord Dispatches show he’s allowing toxic activity in the duchy for a profit. Do you think celebs will start pulling out from the ceremony? It’s wild and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving person.
Oh no, it’s going to ruin the tour 😭 😈
😁
The laugh I let out! Comment of the day.
😂🔥😂❤️
I can see Willnot trying to deflect this back onto Chuck’s lap as he was the POW for decades. Maybe bringing up the bagsful of cash from despotic nations accepted by Chuck, while letting duchy tenants freeze in their rotting homes, will cause a firestorm and the tide to turn. No one likes a snooty, super rich, publicly supported slum landlord! Rise up, Brits and get rid of these leeches!
What delicious timing I say. It seems Hardman is their counter.
Yes, Hardman seems to be Charles spokesman.
Can a Brit explain to me why so many ppl are having to pay hundreds of lbs a month to heat their homes in the UK? And I think it’s the reverse in the summer. Why are so many homes so poorly insulated that is so hard to regulate the temperature? I asked during the summer on Twitter, I was told most homes can’t even fit an ac in the window. I’m just confused as to why they are built like this? This technology is like a hundred years old (well, radiators, not necessarily ac). Are there that many homes that are older than that?
Single glazed windows, inadequate or no insulation in walls, ceilings, and under the floors, and drafty gappy windows and roofs make for chilly damp houses. And houses often don’t have central heating, so they have to be heated room by room with fires and/or space heaters.
I live in New Zealand and we have similar issues. I couldn’t believe how warm and dry Canadian homes were when I lived there for a few years. And I guess houses in the US are the same as Canadian ones. You’re very lucky.
@jas, yes, I really am. I wish I could explain how confusing it is to hear that this is common. Esp in NZ. I figured the UK homes were hundreds of years old. But NZ? I thought they’d be more modern and would have to meet certain codes just to be built.
Building regulations and standards are the main issue I think. Here in New Zealand, double glazing has only recently been made compulsory and insulation standards aren’t nearly as high as in North America.
My Canadian husband was horrified by how cold the houses are when he moved here.
People would die in the winter in Canada if they were not properly heated. I guess the UK could get away with it for a while, but in Canada if your home cannot sustain a snowstorm it won’t stay intact for long. And that includes southern Ontario.
The building code is much tougher here and has been for decades. Northern states have the same standards because of the harsh winter there too.
@nic919
Yes, our milder climates mean we can get away with less robust housing. Or we think we can anyway.
I love my house, but when the wind blows hard, the doors bang and the curtains move because of the gaps around the window frames. I can see daylight under the back door and the wind whistles around under the tile roof.
You couldn’t live in a house like that in a Canadian winter.
We have huge power bills because so much of our heat is being lost to the outside world. We’re working our way round the house installing double glazing.
Here in the Southwest coast of the states, poor insulation and no AC would mean many people would die because of the insane heat. In SoCal, temps can get as high as 110 – 115 degrees and don’t even get me started on Arizona. I don’t even want to think about it. My aunt lives on the east coast and one of the renters in her neighborhood won a huge lawsuit because the landlord did not have adequate insulation/heating in the middle of January. I feel for the people on those duchy properties.
I am Danish and we have a climate similar to the North of England and I was utterly shocked when I lived in England for a year as a student. Even public student housing is better built and insulated in Denmark.
It is about legislation and, I suspect, political culture. Denmark has had a strong social democratic influence on culture since the 1930s whereas conservative forces have always been more dominant.
Interestingly, the UK never did have a strong modern architecture movement like there was on the European continent.
And they can’t have double glazing because Charles doesn’t like it. WTF?
They should really force both Charles and William to live in one of those homes, along the coast during the winter, and televise it for all to see. That would pry open their wallets!
That’s truly appalling. Valuing the aesthetics over the wellbeing of the people who have to live there.
In New Zealand, double glazing is now compulsory in new builds and older rental properties are supposed to meet minimum standards for insulation and heating. But in practice, there are very few inspectors to check and the fines are derisory so most rentals don’t meet the standards. Our political culture values landlords more than tenants. It sounds like England is the same.
There arrived pictures of Wiliam’s rentals that show it’s not up to code. Anyone else would have faced civil or criminal charges. This is so bad the Fail put out a story of Kate turning to religion to deal with her “cancer” crisis. The rota is promoting the Earth shot tour this week but the Dispatches story is getting thrown in their faces. I put mu two cents in. Get ready for a social media block party. I’m loving this for William. For years he and KP have bullied the Sussexes and had the press use them as distraction. They can’t use them now (they’ll try though). Welcome to karma Slumlord Millionaire.
I can bet money Kate has never been to a church when a camera wasn’t there to record it.
@ aquarious Don’t you know that this is all part of Meghan’s master plan to bring down the monarchy!
It was her plan from the very beginning!
I don’t remember which of the so-called royal experts mentioned this awhile back.
🤣🤣🤣🤣😂
Loving the detail on how feudal the monarchy remains. Insanity. Hope these media reports have legs.
The reason why these feudal conditions remain is because of historical circumstances. The UK have always been very proud that they avoid an absolutist monarchy like in France and Denmark. However, when these absolutist monarchies were abolished (in very different ways), space were made for significant social changes. France eventually completely abolished monarchy after several resurgences during the 19th century. In Denmark Fredrik VII voluntarily gave up absolute power in exchange for remaining as a constitutional monarch. The majority of the Royal possessions were nationalized. Today the DRF only has two private estates and they were acquired in the 20th century. In terms of symbolism, the new monarch is not Crowned but proclaimed by the PM.
In comparison, England was so scared by the Civil War and the subsequent Puritan regime that the monarchy was restored. Then there was a very long period of increasing democratization – but without any radical reorganization of the Royal assets ( probably bc the most powerful among the aristocracy benefits from the same age old feudal structures) and thus substantial and lucrative remnants of the feudal system has remained. It is also the reason why the King’s Consent remains. I live in a constitutional monarchy but the idea that the monarch can affect actual legislation is insane to me.
Dear King Chuck and Slumlord Willy,
How does the spotlight feel now?
Enjoy!!
This has been a really great year for Harry and Meghan, and a really lousy year for the leftover royals. They are getting exactly what they deserve.
I wan’t the £3,500 repair figure (that Charles and William claim is too much to pay) to be the baseline measuring stick from now on, every time William and Kate spend money.
Kate comes out in a new dress or debuts a new piece of jewelry? How much more than £3500 is it? How many £3500 repairs they say they cant’ afford would it have paid for?
Every time William shows off new, custom, designer airplane slippers, buys exclusive tickets to a sporting event, head off for a fancy dinner, takes an expensive holiday somewhere — basically any time he or she spend their own money (which is, in large part, the precise money they make off things like these rentals) — tell us how many repairs they could have paid for instead, but claim they can’t afford.
I’ll start with Kate’s coronation “tiara” for 32,000.
Thank you!
The tin foil tiara ALONE is a scandal before you even get to everything else the BRF/KP splash out money on and think how much money KP still pours into maintaining Kategate it’s ridiculous!!
How about a new private helicopter (that they use like a cab) every year?
I see your 32000-pound tacky tiara and remind y’all of the time she wore this necklace for the 2012 Olympics. And who knows how much jewelry she has that has never been worn in public.
https://www.katescloset.com.au/cartier-trinity-necklace.html
49,000$$ neklace. Seen once.
How many seniors will freeze this winter due to lack of fuel because Kate had to get a new ring?
How many people are dealing with ongoing health conditions because the mould remains in their home?
The question and costs are never ending.
Just when I thought I couldn’t hate the royals more…this comes along. I knew many of the Duchy homes were not kept up well but this is truly vile. Puts them right up there with old Fred Drumph. A pox on the lot of them — I hope these reveals gain massive traction with the public, especially the folks who have to live in such horrible conditions. ABOLISH THE MONARCHY.
I think this could be a really big deal in terms of reputational damage. So many people have experience with shitty landlords so this kind of thing will make them angry. And ripping off pensioners is a bad bad look.
It strips away the mystique and shows them to be just another set of greedy miserly rich people exploiting the poor.
Rogue landlords are a blight on society. Why do we allow them to do it.
It’s to be hoped that, thoroughly shamed, they address this immediately and as stated somewhere back up thread announce their intent to be the best landlords in the UK.
And, just for once, swift action follows.
The medieval way they’re running their rental properties is a disgrace and if they weren’t somehow exempt from the law (?), it should be illegal. Doesn’t the Crown as property owner still have to comply with building codes? How on Earth do Chuck’s feelings about double-glazing override his tenants’ health and safety?
And also. If they cared about homelessness OR environmentalism, they could start right here. Forcing people to burn wood or coal for heat? In Canada and the northern US, rental homes have been insulated and heated by oil or gas or electricity—not wood or coal—for 60-100 years. And climate change is making UK winters colder and harsher. What kind of “environmentalist” landlord makes such air-befouling, climate-heating choices?
For those of us who thought Tampon and Peg were horrible people, now we learn they are even worse. I didn’t think that was possible.
I know the moldy rentals will get most of the attention, but what they are charging the nation’s health service is disgusting. That service is losing doctors, nurses and allied health professionals because it cannot afford to pay them what they are worth. It makes me wish I believed in Hell.
This is way beyond mere mockery now…..as a UK citizen I think the credibility of both of these ‘Royals’ is in the gutter, and I don’t think I am alone.
It isn’t even only that William the future King is outed as a slumlord; it is that the tenants referred to in the Dispatches programme were afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals and were quoted anonymously and by actors.
So many other shockers in this documentary. The Royals coining it from the National Health Service, whilst making a show of support from NHS workers during Covid (‘clapping’ for NHS carers in 2020). This at a time when the NHS is struggling: as described by the British Medical Association it is ‘experiencing some of the most severe pressures in its 75-year history’.
Charles making a profit through from (among others) the cancer charity Macmillan…meaning that he profited indirectly from the donations made by members of the public. Btw Macmillan has recently gone through a cost cutting exercise including hundreds of redundancies.
All this whilst Charles was Patron of Macmillan; evidently just as a PR exercise rather than any genuine desire to support them. And there I was thinking that the word ‘patron’ meant being a benefactor or donor, at least a net giver? In any other context this would be regarded as fraud, surely.
I am not interested even in mocking them any more….I feel personally ashamed and sickened that they are getting away with this.
I think everyone is shocked by this, and the wider UK public will be too as the news disseminates tomorrow.
W should have put his own house in order before commissioning a vanity project about ending homelessness, like last week’s.
And where is he as the flak starts? Warm and sunny Cape Town, on another unnecessary Earthshot overseas trip.
One of my DIL got asthma from living in a mouldy flat when she was seven, it has severely damaged her life, she is still suffering years later.
In Canada, houses are built to stay warm and dry even when the outdoor temps are below -40C/F. I get that British homes are older and draftier and their winters used to be mild, but insulation technology exists. How dare these multimillionaires keep their tenants in inhomes with tenants able to keep only one or two rooms warmed—by burning wood and coal? How 2024 is this a thing?
At 3500 pounds per home, 1,000,000 pounds would upgrade 285 homes. What is wrong with Billy Idle and now King Snubby that they won’t take a couple of million and do what needs to be done?
Prepare for another really horrible story about H and M tomorrow.
If I didn’t have Instagram and Celebitchy , I wouldn’t have known anything about this here in Australia .
Charles just had his very successful fawning tour here , no one will be allowed to bring this up .
So many cover ups in that disgusting family , they make me sick .
This is Exhibit A in why trickle down economics is complete and utter bullshit. Keener’s duplicate coatdress collection in every color would fund the repairs for hundreds of homes. Eat the Rich, F#ck the patriarchy and abolish the monarchy!
And what are they going to do about it – absolutely Nothing! They’ll criticize Americas problems, write fake stories about HM – to deflect from their Own deeper problems and continuing Misery(it’s also official that the UK has the most homelessness of the developed countries).
At least the Spaniards made it known how they really really feel when their own institutions have let them down.
I wonder if this is the beginning of the end. When the invisible contract was working, they could get away with anything, however, these articles represent a seismic shift.
I don’t live in the UK anymore, but I watch it closely, and the level of poverty compared to the revolting excesses of the rich is brewing a revolution. The Tories know this well.
Perhaps the following will happen (and not straight away):
Charles will die soon, and William will become King. He’s not liked and doesn’t have the common touch, and no-one has much love for the Princess of Wales. The rising tide of anti-monarchy sentiment and obvious evidence of graft and grift will force the UK government to demand William’s abdication, and request that Harry become regent until George is of age (if the monarchy even lasts that long).
Harry & Meghan will only agree if they can reform the monarchy into one of the world’s best charitable institutions, doing real work with all that dosh. PA will be barred from all royal properties and put on the paedophile registry. He will also have to have that long-overdue chat with the US prosecutors.
Harry and Meghan should keep well away from the mess that is the Monarchy .
It’s not their problem , they are better off where they are .
Harry should not be regent for George. He and Meghan have their own children to raise.
This is the most disappointing, appalling news I have ever read about William. Mr High and Mighty, let me point out homeless people to my children – but yet can’t even bring properties owned by him up to standard? This is beyond the pale. He has zero expenses besides Kate’s constant shopping. He needs to spend a five year plan getting all the Duchy housing up to standard, with appropriate heating (what a time to be an environmentalist!) and no mold. It could be a green project! That poor old man with holes in his roof 😭 I hope the media takes this and reams him for it until he fixes it. However, I’m sure they will sweep it under the rug like all his other antics. He should be horrifically embarrassed of himself.
This would be a great way for William to rehab his image. Will he take advantage and do the right thing, fix these buildings, bring them up to code and make them green as well? I doubt it.
And William keeps invoking his mother. She probably would be horrified at his behavior
They are (i mean the rota and KP) deleting the comments under every article that talks about this even if there are some left all the negative comments about Baldie is gone. They have the power to do this but they did nothing when it came to Meghan, when she was called names or people talked about stabbing her when she was pregnant, they could have protected her but they (Will, his lazy Wife , the king and his tamponholder) needed a scapegoat
Somehow I am 0% shocked to hear this. Gives off Brad Pitt/Make It Right vibes.
Why did William pick homelessness as a cause for himself? It fits him not at all.