Ripped off by the Royals?

The investigation was by the Sunday Times and Channel 4. The Sunday Times could hardly be described as Left Wing or Royal Hating.

 

We will never get rid of the royals because to many people in power would lose their titles too.

 

I was just hunting around, more in hope than expectation, to see if there are any remembrance services I could attend this weekend that don't celebrate the royal family and God and I stumbled across this sentence, which has made me appreciate the total futility of the exercise:

"This should be an occasion on which we may find comfort by reflecting on God's gift of constitutional monarchy to our nation"

 

I've never been to one that celebrates either.

 

Perhaps celebrate was a poor choice of word, but there's usually a strong emphasis on the royal family (For King and Country), God (most remembrance services are religious) and both (God Save The King). Given how many people have died over the years in wars that were started in the name of one or the other, it rather sticks in the craw of a anti-monarchist atheist such as myself for them to be so prevalent.

 

I thought this was going to be something to do with the Reading match!

 

Anyone that thinks they are just there to serve us is delusional. They are all driven by wealth and run the whole thing as a business. Which fair enough - but they should pay the same taxes and play by the same rules and regs as the rest of us.

those charities and nhs etc dont have to use thise properties. They could find alternatives. The concerning thing in these deals is who sets them up and whats in it for them because i doubt old charlie boy will be doing it. So i dare say someone is getting as big or bigger cut than charlie and itl be in their interest to set them up expensive. milking the system like they did in covid with the ppe etc.

Where ever there is money to be made you will get the gravy train.

 

Lol. Just the anti Royal, political stuff, for a change.

 

It's ok... the poor lambs are struggling... so they've received a 53% pay rise this year. £45m extra.... because of crown estate profits, booming to £1.1bn from selling off the rights to access the sea bed and build wind farms.

We're all in it together.

 

To those who support the Royal family (I don't, I think I've made that clear), how do you feel about them charging public institutions like the army, navy, prison service and NHS and charities like the RNLI for the privilege of using land belonging to The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall?

Remembering that you and me pay for those institutions and some of us donate to the charities. This of course means that OUR money goes to them merely for the fact that their medieval ancestors fought (and killed) to acquire that land.

 

I'm all in favour of a constitutional monarchy. I.E. all assets owned by the state & the royal family just get a salary. This is what happens in most more advanced countries. I don't see that the Crown lands are in any way run for the benefit of the country, which is pretty depressing. It needs addressing. I don't want to get rid of the monarchy, as it is quite good for the country & a president would be another horrible choice, like what is going on in the USA. God save the King, but not the regime in my book. Time to modernise. I don't think Starmer, or the Tories will do owt about it though anytime soon.

 

I absolutely do want to get rid of the monarchy, but would accept that as a reasonable compromise.

Unfortunately, although you might just be able to get away with putting your idea to the public in theory, it would upset the whole system of aristocracy. For a start it would make a whole host of dukes and whatnot much better off than the royal family proper. Unless you're going to seize their assets as well (and, for the record, I think we absolutely should) then the kind of situation you outline is going to be something we can probably only gradually get to after a couple of generations of royals have been and gone.

Actually imposing inheritance tax on them would be a good start, and to be scrupulously fair to Starmer the limit on exemptions for agricultural land is a definite step in the right direction.

 

I agree they should pay inheritance tax, just like the farmers & other big land owners. i see no reason why, in a democracy anyone should be able to avoid taxes.

 

Start with the corporation tax they’re dodging according to the documentary.

I support the monarchy, I get why others don’t but for me there’s a net benefit. They need to modernise though and pay their dues.

 

Absolutely. There is a bit of a joke in that first one word sentence. The Monarchy still has absolute power in this country. That is why Andrew isn't in jail TBH.