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British royal family news reveals that the Royal Family could have a crisis of sorts on its hands regarding UK real estate. The Government plans to give leaseholders in England new rights but also some exemptions for the Queen and Prince Charles which may not sit well with the public according to royal watchers.
Royal Family News – Are the Landowners Revolting?
It appears that three key royal estates will be exempted from a reform allowing leaseholders in England the right to extend their leases up to 990 years without paying ground rent. But this ruling could anger tenants in three areas linked to the Royal Family (the Crown Estate, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall) if they continue to have rising rents.
Royal finance expert David McClure wrote The Queen’s Worth and he is speaking out about the matter. He told MailPlus’s Palace Confidential, “The real problem with the new legislation is it doesn’t apply to the Scilly Isles, where the major land-owner is Prince Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall. In the last ten years or so there have been many complaints from tenants saying the rents are too high.”
Royal Family News – Should Prince Charles Have An Exemption?
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Other complaints, according to McClure, include, “it is too difficult for us to get an extension of the lease or it is impossible for us to buy up the freehold. That means their property is much less valuable.”
“And it should be remembered that last year the Duchy made £22million in profit, which all goes to Prince Charles and in the last 20 years the profits have gone up by almost £10million.”
“So, put crudely, the Duchy of Cornwall is Prince Charles’s cash cow.”
Royal Family News – Prince Charles Has a Cash Cow
He added, “Some tenants in the Scilly Isles say the Duchy of Cornwall is doing this purely to make money.”
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McClure further explained the situation by saying the exemptions probably will not be challenged in the Houses of Parliament, “any legislation affecting the Queen cannot be criticized in the House of Commons.”
“I fail to understand why a leaseholder in the Isles of Scilly should not have the same rights as those on other UK islands. Surely it is time we brought all of these affairs into the 21st century.”
Backing up this sentiment is Richard Eden, the Daily Mail Diary Editor. He gave the example of this Government’s legislation and the House of Lords Act 1999, which abolished hereditary peerage during Tony Blair’s term.
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It just seems they have a double standard.