Republican protesters have demanded the end of King Charles’ reign after an expose revealed assets of thousands of people in north-west England have been used to upgrade a controversial land and property estate.
The estate – The Duchy of Lancaster – generates profit for King Charles with £60m collected over the last 10 recent years.
Assets known as bona vacantia, owned by people who died without a will or known next of kin, are collected by the duchy.
It has been claimed that after deducting costs, bona vacantia revenues are donated to charities.
Lancaster Castle. The Duchy of Lancaster came under Charles’s ownership after the death of his mother
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However, internal duchy documents reveal how funds are being used to finance the renovation of properties that are owned by the king and rented out for profit, according to the Guardian.
The leaked 2020 duchy policy gave the green light to officials at the king’s estate licence to use bona vacantia funds on its profit-generating portfolio.
The policy acknowledges spending the money in this way could result in an “incidental” benefit to the privy purse.
Anti-monarchistshave been left outraged by the discovery and have called for the end of King Charles’ reign.
Taking to social media, one user said: “This is horrifying to know that the bl**dy royals have their claws on the estates of deceased people. Yet another reason to abolish the grifters.”
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Another added: “And then when he dies, he’ll bequeath all these to his beloved wife/queen consort.
“In turn, she’ll leave the assets to her children as beneficiaries. Never mind the heir & spare. The dead people worked in vain! Their own families won’t get a penny! This is gross!”
A third said: “It’s not secret. It’s the law. What did anyone think they were doing with the cash. Their whole existence is based on stealing from the populace.”
Properties found to be eligible for use of the funds include town houses, holiday lets, rural cottages, agricultural buildings, a former petrol station and barns.
Anti-monarchists have been left outraged by the discovery and have called for the end of King Charles’ reign
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Several people whose money has been transferred to the king’s hereditary estate had been living in rundown properties or social housing before being transformed with the money left behind.
A Duchy of Lancaster spokesperson indicated that, following his mother’s death, the king endorsed the policy of using bona vacantia money on “the restoration and repair of qualifying buildings in order to protect and preserve them for future generations”.
Republic – a campaign group calling for the abolishment of British monarchy in favour of a democratic republic – shared their horror at the discovery.
Writing on social media, they said: “It’s time we ended this outrageous practice and stopped funneling away the assets of the deceased into income streams for Charles.”
