The announcement of Queen Camilla being unwell of a chest infection drew suspicion among eagle-eyed royal watchers who think it could not have come at a more convenient time after King Charles III and Prince William were revealed to have leached off millions from the very charities they are patrons of.
Buckingham Palace announced that Her Majesty had to pull out of a couple of scheduled engagements to rest per her doctor’s advise so she can make it to this weekend’s Remembrance events. Some had wished her a speedy recovery and others initially thought the announcement referred to the dearly departed Queen Elizabeth II, because of the mention of “Her Majesty the Queen.”
Meanwhile, others thought it was a sly move by Buckingham Palace to divert attention from the shocking investigation into Charles and William’s massive fortune by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches. Backlash followed after the five-month investigation revealed that Charles and William have been raking in millions of dollars of income from contracts that their respective estates, the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall, have made with charities, schools, hospitals, and other public services. These include the National Health Service, state-funded schools, and the British Armed Forces.
One wrote on X: “So Camilla develops a chest infection just at the same time most of the British media refuses to report news of her husband and son-in-law stitching up the very charities they’re patrons of. I hope she gets well soon, but goodness me, how convenient.” Another commented: “It’s funny that we have clear signs of corruption and theft from public coffers by the king and his son… Crickets from the media. Suddenly the queen has a chest infection. Great timing.”
The findings were unveiled in the Channel 4 documentary The King, the Prince & Their Secret Millions that aired on Saturday, Nov. 2. There’s a lot to unpack from the film, including that Prince William’s estate has allegedly earned him over $28.5 million since 2005 from rent payments on Camelford House. He is earning money from the moldy, cold, and horrid royal residences being rented out illegally to unsuspecting tenants.
Likewise, the Prince of Wales earned a $78,000 payment from St John’s Ambulance — a charity of which His Majesty is a patron. The Duchy of Cornwall reportedly also charges the British Navy $1.3 million since 2004 to build jetties and moor warships in Cornwall. Moreover, the estate earns around $2 million yearly in rent for the currently unusable Dartmoor prison, around $19,700 a year in rent for an elementary school in Princetown, Devon, and charges rent on land used by the Ministry of Defense even though the King is commander in chief of the Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, King Charles III’s Duchy of Lancaster allegedly signed a deal last year to store in its warehouses an ambulance fleet for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London for a payment of about $14.7 million over 15 years. The investigation likewise revealed that the royals earn income from tolls, wind turbines, parking lots, and more. They also charge fees to run cables under the beaches they own and the right to cross rivers. Both estates have allegedly earned around $65 million through deals made just last year.
Naturally, there was outburst from the general British public and some have accused the royals of corruption and hypocrisy. The Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster are tax-exempt so this means Prince William and King Charles III can use the money as they please, either for the monarchy or to feed their lavish lifestyles.
Published: Nov 7, 2024 09:02 am