Contrary to so many great fortunes, Charles III has no revenge to take on fate. He never had to fight to accumulate his kitty. His woolen stocking is the old money of an annuitant heir. The interested party does not have a company to manage and develop in the hope of creating an industrial dynasty. He is not a star of show business, media or sport, forced to sell his image, his only capital, day after day. Unlike other billionaires, the head of state does not fear burglary or kidnapping. The monarch considers the future of his assets from a purely patrimonial perspective, for the benefit of his children and grandchildren. The wealthy strive to win political favors. Not him. He’s the king.
Yet these days, the host of Buckingham Palace must be both sovereign and business leader.
That’s why it’s time for austerity at the English court. Charles III undergoes a drastic reduction in spending in order to set an example for his subjects forced to tighten their belts because of the economic crisis in the United Kingdom.
The financial support granted by the monarch to other members of the royal family, in particular those who do not exercise representative functions, has been cut. Assistance from the Duchy of Lancaster, the sovereign’s private piggy bank, has dwindled. Thus, Prince Andrew, younger brother of the Head of State, involved in a pedophilia scandal, must lose his official residence, Royal Lodge, adjoining Windsor Castle following the abolition of subsidies for the maintenance of the spacious home.
In addition, the coronation on May 6 will be subject to the slimming diet. The ceremony was brought back to 1:50 a.m. instead of the four hours that had lasted the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, while the number of guests was reduced by three quarters. The organizers have restricted the number of royal guards deployed during the procession which will follow the religious service by spacing out the soldiers further.
Furthermore, during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury should have placed a specially made crown on the head of the Queen Consort, Camilla. The tradition dating back to 1861 will not be respected. As a cost-saving measure, Camilla will wear Queen Mary’s crown, made in 1911 for the coronation of George V.
In the same vein, Her Gracious Majesty intends to set an example by financing her charitable activity with her own money instead of confining herself to providing moral support to associations. So Charles III gave the nation 1 billion pounds [1.13 billion euros] from the royalties paid by the offshore wind industry to the owner of the subsoil of British territorial waters.
The contrast is striking between the frugality of the royal institution and the rise in the revenues of the crown. Indeed, under a 2011 agreement with the Cameron government, the civil list allocated each year by the State was replaced by the granting of 15% of the profits of the Crown Estate, the enormous housing stock of the royalty coupled with an impressive portfolio of British stocks and bonds. However, the surge in real estate and the stock market, despite the economic downturn, swelled the revenues of this public body founded in 1760. The autonomous agency placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance also owns vast agricultural estates and the half of the coastline and seabed prized by the “wind pump” industry.
“We don’t want a cheap monarchy, but a good value for money,” likes to repeat the new king. Ascended to the throne in September 2022, Charles III intends to modernize the royal label without touching the very symbols that make its magic. Obviously, the rebranding operation (change of image) goes through the decline of the lifestyle of the Windsor clan.
