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<h1><font size=5><b>King Charles awards himself huge £40m, 50% pay rise,
net worth £1.8 billion inheritance tax
free</b></font></h1>
<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/king-charles-awards-himself-huge-40m-50-pay-rise-net-worth-1-8-billion-inheritance-tax-free/">
24Dec23</a>
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<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/king-charles-awards-himself-huge-40m-50-pay-rise-net-worth-1-8-billion-inheritance-tax-free/" eudora="autourl">
https://tlio.org.uk/king-charles-awards-himself-huge-40m-50-pay-rise-net-worth-1-8-billion-inheritance-tax-free/<br>
</a><h3><b>King Charles to receive huge £39 million pay rise from UK
taxpayers</b></h3>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/20/king-charles-to-receive-huge-pay-rise-from-uk-taxpayers">
Details published by Treasury show royal family’s grant is expected to
increase from £86m to £125m in 2025</a><br>
<h3><b>Revealed: King Charles’s private fortune estimated at £1.8
billion</b></h3>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2023/apr/20/revealed-king-charless-private-fortune-estimated-at-almost-2bn">
King’s fortune includes cars, jewellery, property, investments, horses,
rare stamps, art and a hereditary estate</a><br>
Cost of the crown team
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2023/apr/20/revealed-king-charless-private-fortune-estimated-at-almost-2bn">
King Charles III has inherited assets that have propelled his wealth to
almost £2bn, according to extensive research and analysis by the
Guardian. The monarch’s personal fortune is largely concealed from public
scrutiny and it is impossible to know the complete value of his
estate.</a><br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/series/cost-of-the-crown">
The Guardian’s ‘Cost of the crown’ series</a><br>
<h1><b>Royal residences: how many, how big and who lives
where?</b></h1>
<img src="cid:7.0.1.0.1.20231224014832.0b101008@cultureshop.org.uk.0" width=634 height=476 alt="Emacs!">
</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/03/royal-residences-how-many-how-big-and-who-lives-where">
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/03/royal-residences-how-many-how-big-and-who-lives-where</a>
<br><br>
The Guardian details 18 key castles, estates and ‘cottages’ used by King
Charles and other royal family members<br><br>
Wed 3 May 2023 by Felicity Lawrence, Rob Evans, Severin Carrell and David
Pegg <br><br>
Along with the crown, Charles III has inherited an unrivalled collection
of homes to add to several he accumulated as heir-in-waiting. The king
and the queen consort now have more than a dozen residences to choose
from, boasting a total of at least 2,000 rooms. The cost of the staff
required to keep these properties available year-round for often brief
visits – and precisely who pays for them – is unclear. Here we list the
main properties used by the king and close family members.<br><br>
<h2><b>Buckingham Palace</b></h2>An aerial view of London looking east
with Buckingham Palace, Green Park and St James’s Park visible. <br><br>
<b>Location:</b> central London<br>
<b>Ownership</b>: king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size:</b> 775 rooms, including 52 bedrooms and 78 bathrooms<br>
<b>Use</b>: official headquarters of the monarch<br>
<b>Open to the public? </b>Yes, public rooms open in summer, £30; limited
tours on other days, £90.<br><br>
Reputed to be disliked by many of the royal family, Buckingham Palace
nonetheless remains central to the British monarchy. With its vast array
of rooms and acres of gardens, the palace is the official headquarters of
the king, although it has not yet been announced whether it will also
become his main London residence, as it was for Queen Elizabeth II. The
cost of its upkeep has been a perennial sore. In 2017, it was agreed that
action was needed to fix the leaking roof and crumbling masonry, with the
then prime minister, Theresa May, increasing the government-funded
sovereign grant to cover £369m of refurbishment costs over 10
years.<br><br>
<h2><b>St James’s Palace</b></h2>King Charles III is proclaimed king at
St James’s Palace on 10 September 2022 <br><br>
<b>Location:</b> central London<br>
<b>Ownership</b>: king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size</b>: state rooms around a series of courtyards and a Tudor
gatehouse<br>
<b>Use</b>: an administrative centre for the sovereign and the royal
court; houses apartments used by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/princess-anne">Princess
Anne</a> and Princess Alexandra, the late queen’s cousin.<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> No<br><br>
Close to Buckingham Palace is the sprawling complex of St James’s Palace,
where the royal court is formally based. Charles lived in a wing of the
palace with his sons William and Harry after his separation from Diana,
but moved to the more private Clarence House after the queen mother died.
St James’s is still the site for major royal ceremonial events. Charles
was declared king in the Proclamation Gallery, and royal christenings
take place in its Chapel Royal.<br><br>
<h2><b>Clarence House</b></h2>Members of the public in the gardens of
Clarence House and St James’s Palace <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>central London<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size:</b> five bedrooms, a morning room, drawing room and garden
room<br>
<b>Use: </b>London residence of the king and queen consort<br>
<b>Open to the public? </b>Currently closed<br><br>
Clarence House’s first occupant was its patron William, Duke of Clarence
(later King William IV). Other residents have included Princess
Elizabeth, who lived in the property before her accession in 1952, and
her mother, Queen Elizabeth, who lived there until her death in 2002.
More recently it has been the London home of Charles and
Camilla.<br><br>
<h2><b>Windsor Castle</b></h2>Camilla, Catherine, William and Charles
leave St George’s Chapel by horse-drawn carriage after attending the Most
Noble Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle in June last year
<br><br>
<b>Location:</b> Berkshire, England<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size: </b>More than 1,000 rooms in 2,000 hectares of parkland<br>
<b>Use: </b>the monarch’s weekend residence<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, public areas, £28<br><br>
With more than 1,000 rooms, this is the largest occupied castle in the
world. It was Queen Elizabeth II’s preferred home near London. Several
royal weddings and funerals have been held in the castle’s chapel. In
1992, a fire destroyed large parts of the building. A row ensued over who
should pay for the repairs, with many arguing that the queen should fund
them from her private wealth. In the end, the £37m restoration was paid
for from existing grants and from money raised by opening Buckingham
Palace to paying visitors for the first time.<br><br>
<h2><b>Adelaide Cottage</b></h2>Adelaide Cottage viewed from across the
River Thames. <br><br>
<b>Location:</b> Windsor Home Park, Berkshire<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>crown estate, given over to the king<br>
<b>Size:</b> reportedly four bedrooms<br>
<b>Use:</b> official residence of William and Catherine, Prince and
Princess of Wales<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> No<br><br>
William and Catherine moved in with their family in 2022 as paying
tenants. Their children go to a private school nearby. Described as
modest and quaint, the Grade II-listed cottage was built in the 18th
century using materials recycled from the Royal Lodge and a former royal
yacht. Queen Victoria is said to have taken breakfast and tea there
regularly. Its ownership is convoluted: originally part of the crown
estate, it was given over to Windsor Castle for the use of the sovereign
in perpetuity.<br><br>
<h2><b>Royal Lodge</b></h2>Princesses Elizabeth (R) and Margaret pulling
a lawn chair on wheels at the Royal Lodge in April 1940. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Windsor Great Park, Berkshire<br>
<b>Ownership</b>: crown estate, with a 75-year lease bought by
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/prince-andrew">Prince Andrew</a>
in 2003<br>
<b>Size:</b> reportedly 30 rooms in 40 hectares<br>
<b>Use:</b> Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> No<br><br>
Since he was removed from royal duties in 2019 over sexual abuse claims,
Prince Andrew, 63, is said to have been spending his days rattling around
his 30-room mansion where he has lived since 2003. His former wife, Sarah
Ferguson, reportedly lives in a separate wing. It has been reported that
Charles wants to cut the financial support Andrew gets from his family,
which could leave him struggling to afford the lodge’s running costs. The
king has offered his younger brother the smaller Frogmore Cottage,
according to reports.<br><br>
<h2><b>Frogmore Cottage</b></h2>Harry and Meghan left Frogmore Cottage in
2020. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Windsor Home Park, Berkshire<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>crown estate, given over to the king<br>
<b>Size: </b>reportedly four bedrooms and four bathrooms<br>
<b>Use: </b>Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, until 2020;
currently empty<br>
<b>Open to the public? </b>No<br><br>
The Grade II-listed house was made available to Harry and Meghan by the
late queen shortly before the birth of their first child, Archie. Before
then it had housed estate workers.Its ownership is – like that of
Adelaide Cottage – difficult to untangle: originally owned by the crown
estate, a change in the 19th century means it can be used in perpetuity
by the sovereign. Harry and Meghan renovated it using
<a href="https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/final_sovereign_grant_for_website.pdf">
£2.4m</a> from the taxpayer-funded sovereign grant. This work reportedly
created a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with orangeries, a nursery and
a yoga studio. Meghan and Harry remained paying tenants after they moved
to California. They
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11876637/Buckingham-Palace-struck-deal-Harry-Meghan-let-live-Frogmore-Cottage-rent-free.html">
repaid</a> the £2.4m in 2020 in lieu of further rent.<br><br>
<h2><b>Kensington Palace</b></h2>People view tributes to the late Diana
left outside Kensington Palace in August last year to mark the 25th
anniversary of her death. Images <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>central London<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size: </b>vast palace divided into several apartments, plus cottages
in grounds<br>
<b>Use: </b>London residence of William and Catherine, and other
royals<br>
<b>Open to the public? </b>Yes, £25.40<br><br>
Once known as “the aunt heap” on account of the number of ageing minor
royals living there, Kensington Palace today is the London residence of
the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the
Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The
elegant three-storey, redbrick mansion, largely designed by the architect
Christopher Wren, was the favoured residence of earlier monarchs, who
entertained lavishly in its grand state rooms and galleries.<br><br>
<h2><b>Highgrove House</b></h2>Prince Charles attends a tree planting
ceremony at Highgrove House in 2008 <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Gloucestershire<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> Duchy of Cornwall<br>
<b>Size: </b>nine bedrooms with a 140-hectare farm estate<br>
<b>Use:</b> Charles and Camilla use it as their country home<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, Highgrove gardens, £30<br><br>
The Duchy of Cornwall
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2023/apr/05/revealed-royals-took-more-than-1bn-income-from-controversial-estates-king-charles-queen-duchies-cornwall-lancaster">
bought Highgrove House</a> as a country home for Charles in 1980. It was
just a few miles from Camilla’s family home at the time and it cost
£865,000. The king renovated it and created formal and kitchen gardens.
He has also installed solar panels and a reed-bed sewage filtering
system. It is currently valued by an estates expert at about £15m. The
king initially lived in the property for free; these days he pays
£659,285 in annual rent for the house and other properties used by his
staff. On Charles’s accession to the throne, Prince William inherited the
Duchy of Cornwall and so became his father’s Highgrove landlord.<br><br>
<h2><b>Sandringham estate</b></h2>Queen Elizabeth attends a garden party
to mark her diamond jubilee at the Sandringham estate in 2012. <br><br>
<b>Location:</b> Norfolk<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> privately owned by the king<br>
<b>Size:</b> more than 8,000 hectares and 300 commercially rented
properties<br>
<b>Use:</b> members of the royal family for Christmas holidays and
private breaks<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, during the summer, £23<br><br>
A large house and larger estate that includes farms and more than 300
houses across 13 villages that are
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/19/landlord-king-charles-lets-out-homes-near-sandringham-worth-75m">
rented out by the king</a>. As a whole it is estimated to be worth
between £250m and £390m. The estate includes Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom
manor given to William and Catherine by the late queen.<br><br>
<h2><b>Balmoral Castle and estate</b></h2>Queen Elizabeth with Prince
Philip and their sons (L-R) Edward, Charles and Andrew at Balmoral Castle
in 1979. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Aberdeenshire<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> privately owned by the king through a trust<br>
<b>Size:</b> the castle has 167 rooms; the estate is 22,000 hectares<br>
<b>Use:</b> the monarch’s summer base<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, public areas, £17.74<br><br>
Conservatively
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/20/royal-familys-balmoral-estate-could-be-worth-80m">
worth £78m</a>, Balmoral is the quintessential Highland estate, where the
royal family indulge their love of deer stalking, grouse shooting and
salmon fishing. The late queen, who died there last September, is said to
have regarded Balmoral as her favourite place.<br><br>
The estate includes the king’s personal retreat at Birkhall, a country
house dating to 1715 and enlarged by the queen mother in the 1960s; and
Craigowan Lodge, a seven-bedroom house. There are another 81 cottages and
lodges on the estate, mostly for staff.<br><br>
<h2><b>Castle of Mey</b></h2>Charles visits the Castle of Mey in 2019.
<br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Caithness<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> Prince’s Foundation charitable trust<br>
<b>Size:</b> tower house in 12 hectares of parkland<br>
<b>Use:</b> Charles and Camilla as a holiday home<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, £14.50<br><br>
The castle was owned by the queen mother, who bought it as a
semi-derelict ruin in 1952. After an extensive reconstruction, she stayed
there every August through to October, until her death in 2002. In 1996
its ownership passed to a charitable trust under the direction of
Charles. He opened up its gardens and public rooms to visitors, and in
2019 he gave it to the Prince’s Foundation.<br><br>
<h2><b>Dumfries House</b></h2>Money was raised from private foreign
donors to pay off a £20m loan used to buy Dumfries House. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>East Ayrshire<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> Prince’s Foundation<br>
<b>Size: </b>mansion in 800 hectares<br>
<b>Use:</b> king, during visits to the area<br>
<b>Open to the public? </b>Yes, £13.50<br><br>
Dumfries House and its Chippendale furniture was bought for £45m by a
consortium headed by Prince Charles in 2007 from the Marquis of Bute. The
purchase was funded through government, lottery and charitable funds, and
a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/28/artnews.monarchy">
£20m loan from Charles’s Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation</a>.
Charles hoped to repay that loan by building a model village nearby, a
project that floundered after the banking crisis in 2008. His aides then
controversially raised money from foreign private donors to fund the
debt.<br><br>
<h2><b>Bagshot Park</b></h2>Mansion House in Bagshot Park is the home of
Prince Edward and Sophie <br>
<b>Location: </b>Surrey<br><br>
<b>Ownership:</b> crown estate lease bought privately<br>
<b>Size:</b>
<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/where-does-prince-edward-live-can-visit-bagshot-park-b1025404.html">
reportedly 120 rooms</a> within 21 hectares<br>
<b>Use:</b> Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh<br>
<b>Open to public? </b>No<br><br>
The king’s youngest sibling, Edward, has lived in Bagshot Park’s Mansion
House with his wife since 1998. Before they moved in, the dilapidated
mansion was refurbished at a cost of nearly £3m. The Ministry of Defence,
which previously used the building,
<a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2000-03-01/debates/db8860fe-5848-4385-8065-cb82ee430e8c/BagshotPark">
paid £1.8m</a> towards the renovation, with the rest coming from Edward.
Under the terms of the initial lease,
<a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2005/04/royal_property_leases.pdf">
Edward was required to pay</a> £90,000 in annual rent. He sublet the
stables to a commercial firm, which helped to cover this cost, and later
reportedly bought a longer lease.<br><br>
<h2><b>Gatcombe Park</b></h2>Moon Man, ridden by William Fox-Pitt,
competing in the British Open horse trials championship at Gatcombe Park
in 2000. The pair won the event. <br><br>
<b>Location:</b> Gloucestershire<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> privately owned by Princess Anne since 1976<br>
<b>Size:</b> 18 rooms, 283-hectare estate<br>
<b>Use:</b> home of Anne and her second husband, Sir Timothy
Laurence<br>
<b>Open to public? </b>No<br><br>
Princess Anne has lived in this Cotswolds country house since 1976 when
the queen bought it for her and her then husband, Capt Mark Phillips. The
estate has a lake, extensive parkland, and stables. Since 2013, Anne’s
daughter, Zara, has lived in a cottage on the estate with her husband,
the former rugby player Mike Tindall, and their children. Anne’s son,
Peter Phillips, reportedly has a separate house on the estate.<br><br>
<h2><b>Llwynywermod</b></h2>Charles and Camilla outside Llwynywermod in
2009. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Carmarthenshire<br>
<b>Ownership</b>: Duchy of Cornwall<br>
<b>Size:</b> three bedrooms, in 78 hectares<br>
<b>Use:</b> Welsh home for the Prince of Wales<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> No<br><br>
Bought by the Duchy of Cornwall for £1.3m in 2007 as the Welsh home of
Charles and Camilla, it is unclear how often they stayed there. The
cottages on the estate are
<a href="https://www.duchyofcornwallholidaycottages.co.uk/properties/north-range">
rented out as holiday lets</a> when the Prince of Wales is
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080513200326/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/newsandgallery/news/the_prince_of_wales_visits_llwynywermod_near_myddfai_240730788.html">
not there</a>. Now owned by William, it is unclear whether he and
Charles, who continues to pay rent, will both use it.<br><br>
<h2><b>Palace of Holyroodhouse</b></h2>The queen hosts the annual garden
party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2018. <br><br>
<b>Location: </b>Edinburgh<br>
<b>Ownership:</b> king, in right of the crown<br>
<b>Size:</b> 289 rooms in 6 hectares of land<br>
<b>Use:</b> king’s official residence in Scotland<br>
<b>Open to the public?</b> Yes, £19.50<br><br>
Holyroodhouse was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots, but is now the
official royal residence in Scotland. In April 2019, the queen registered
the crown’s ownership of the palace, its grounds and ruined abbey. Since
the site had been owned by successive monarchs for centuries, that was a
formality.<br><br>
<h2><b>Hillsborough Castle</b></h2>L-R: Former Irish taoiseach Bertie
Ahern, British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, former US president Bill
Clinton and former British PM Sir Tony Blair outside Hillsborough Castle
during the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement in April.
<br><br>
<b>Location</b>: Hillsborough, County Down<br>
<b>Ownership: </b>UK government<br>
<b>Size</b>: Two-storey mansion set in 40 hectares<br>
<b>Use: </b>residence for visiting royals and the secretary of state for
Northern Ireland<br>
<b>Open to public?</b> Yes, £10<br><br>
The British government bought
<a href="https://www.hrp.org.uk/hillsborough-castle/history-and-stories/the-story-of-hillsborough-castle-and-gardens/#gs.vozviu">
Hillsborough Castle</a>, 15 miles south-west of Belfast, in 1920 and it
is the official residence of the secretary of state for Northern Ireland
and members of the royal family when they visit the region. An Irish “big
house” rather than a castle proper, it was built by the Hill family,
Anglo-Irish landowners whose fortune was first made during the Tudor
conquests of Ireland at the beginning of the 17th century. Hillsborough
takes its name from the family but is seen as a politically neutral venue
and has featured prominently in peace talks.<br><br>
<br><br>
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