Qhow much they pay William and Kate to be able to reside in Forest Lodgetheir new residence in Windsor, a stone’s throw from the king’s castle? The members of the English parliament are asking themselves this question, after the Andrea scandal and the unpaid rent for over two decades, they announced an urgent investigation into the use and maintenance of all the homes of the British Crown.
William and Kate targeted by rent investigation
The focus of the investigations, which will begin in the new year, is above all the practice of peppercorn rentan expression that indicates the rent paid by members of the Royal Family at a symbolic cost, equal to peppercorna grain of pepper. In addition to William and Kate, they are under scrutiny the agreements stipulated in the past between Queen Elizabeth and her youngest son Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, living in Bagshot ParkWindsor, with his wife Sophie. And the terms of the contract signed by Princess Alexandra, Elizabeth’s cousin, will also be examined. In 1963, the sovereign rented them out Thatched House Lodgeanother Crown-owned residence, located in London’s Richmond Park.
The contract signed by William and Kate for Forest Lodge
William and Kate moved to Forest Lodge last October, together with their children George, Charlotte and Louis. The residence is owned by the Crown and, as revealed by representatives of the Princes of Wales, their contract provides for a rental period of 20 years. The monthly fee, paid with private funds by William and Kate, was decided based on today’s market value of the residence, assessed by experts in the sector. The princes are also responsible for maintaining the mansion.
Forest Lodge, William and Kate’s new residence in Windsor (Getty Images)
Where do the funds for the maintenance of the king’s houses go?
The investigation will also be extended to the management of funds allocated each year by the government to the Crown for the maintenance of permanently unoccupied homes, such as Buckingham Palace. A further one humiliation for Carlo who, perhaps more than his mother Elizabeth, always shows himself to be very attentive to the Royal purse strings. For years he has been trying to maximize profits from the royal houses through unprecedented business ventures and aims to one day make them all financially independent.
The English want clear answers from Charles III
Profits from Crown properties are allocated to the government and then used for public spending. However, following the repercussions of the scandal that hit Andrea – deprived of his titles and now also forced to leave his residence in Royal Lodge – and the revelation of unpaid rent, British taxpayers are calling for greater transparency. The agreements made in secret between the Royals regarding rents and housing sales must become public knowledge.
Sandringham and Balmoral are owned by Charles III
This also explains the reason that pushed Carlo to assign his brother Andrea a residence hidden in a remote corner of Sandringham. This is, in fact, his private property, as is Balmoral Castle. The same sovereign is forced for two years to pay his son a monthly rent for Highgrove, his beloved country house. Owned by Duchy of Cornwallthe trading company of the Princes of Wales, William became responsible for it upon his father’s accession to the throne. But the monthly sum that Carlo pays to his son has never been revealed.