If you have paid attention in the past to the real estate holdings of the British royal family, you're probably already aware of the Duchy of Lancaster, an estate that reportedly generates significant income for King Charles III. This array of land has been the source of controversy before, but is drawing new attention due to an obscure British law that has been transferring assets from deceased citizens to the royal family, who then used the money to pay for millions of dollars' worth of upgrades, all in secret.
The law has to do with the assets of certain British citizens who die bona vacantia, or without a will or any living relatives to inherit. In a system that The Guardian calls "antiquated," and which goes all the way back to the feudal era, these assets are automatically transferred to the royal family, which has always claimed to have donated the money to charity. But the report says that only a small percentage of the estimated $76 million US generated by the custom over the last ten years actually went to charity. Instead, the money has been used to renovate and upgrade the various properties of the Duchy of Lancaster.
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The article explains that the law only applies to "people whose last known address was in a territory that in the middle ages was known as Lancashire county palatine and ruled by a duke," and when those people die without a will or next of kin, the Duchy basically inherits those assets by default.
Friends of some of the departed individuals whose assets have reportedly been used in this way don't approve of the practice. One told The Guardian that the departed "would turn over in his grave if he knew" that his money was being used to refurbish royal estates.
The bona vacantia funds have never been publicly disclosed before now, and sources close to the duchy refer to it as "free money" and a "slush fund."
The upgrades serve to make the rental properties owned by the king even more lucrative, all without any real overhead expenses. Earlier in 2023, King Charles III reportedly received his first payout from the Duchy of Lancaster following his own inheritance of the lands from his late mother, a payout valued at around $33 million US.
No royal spokesperson has commented directly on the matter, but a spokesperson for the Duchy of Lancaster says that Charles was simply continuing a policy that channels funds toward "the restoration and repair of qualifying buildings in order to protect and preserve them for future generations."
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