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What are the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and why are they controversial with the Royals right now?
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What are the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster and why are they controversial with the Royals right now?

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    Prince William wears a blue blazer and green shirt looking thoughtful.     Prince William wears a blue blazer and green shirt looking thoughtful.

Credit: Getty Images

The Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster have made plenty of headlines in recent days thanks to an investigation into Sunday Times and Channel 4 which exhibited some of the The financial relations of the royal family.

That the current Prince of WalesPrince William is the beneficiary of the Duchy of Cornwall, a hereditary estate that was established in 1337 by King Edward III primarily to provide income for the heir to the British throne. Meanwhile, King Charles, who was the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, held the title of Duke of Cornwall until his mother. died in 2022. Now the King benefits from the Duchy of Lancaster, a different private estate and other possessions held by the monarch and established in 1265.

None of these properties are funded by taxpayers and do not operate as private businesses. However, there has been quite a bit of public outrage after learning how King Charles and Prince William make money from their respective duchies.

Conformable Sunday Timesthe media outlet collaborated with Channel 4 REFERENCES show to carry out a five-month investigation and “discovered how the duchies make millions of pounds every year by taxing government departments, councils, businesses, mining companies and the general public through a range of commercial rents and feudal dues” . This includes the National Health Service (NHS).

The report’s findings revealed that the King and Prince of Wales have earned more than $28 million in rent from charities over the past 19 years from their respective duchies – and some of the rental properties managed by the Duchy of Cornwall are not exactly up to par. equal.

According to the investigation (via Cornwall Live) some of the homes “are filled with damp, black mold” and “do not meet the minimum legal energy efficiency standards for landlords”.

As for the NHS, King Charles’ Duchy of Lancaster has struck a $14 million deal “to store a fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses during for 15 years”, according to the data. THE Independent.

While many Britons took to social media to express their outrage at the report, particularly amid Prince William a new documentary about the end of homelessness— others pointed out that ducats are separate from the money that taxpayers use to finance the activities of the monarchy.

“How obscene for a family to accumulate the wealth that was given to them (or the ability to buy these investments) by their ‘subjects,'” one person commented. REFERENCES Instagram post about the show.

Another took the opposite view, writing: “Well asking what the state pays them is one thing, but how they run their private business is their business. Every business owner makes a profit.”

According to the BBC, a spokesman for the Duchy of Lancaster said it “complies with all relevant UK legislation and regulatory standards applicable to its range of business activities”.