King’s estate to transfer £100m into ethical funds after bona vacantia revelations

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨GreyShuck@feddit.uk⁩ to ⁨unitedkingdom@feddit.uk⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/25/kings-estate-transfer-cash-ethical-funds-bona-vacantia-revelations

King Charles’s estate has announced it is transferring more than £100m, including funds collected from dead people under the archaic system of bona vacantia, into ethical investment funds after an investigation by the Guardian.

The surprise announcement comes amid growing pressure on the king over the Duchy of Lancaster’s use of funds collected from people who die in the north-west of England with no will or next of kin.

On Thursday, the Guardian revealed some of the funds were secretly being used to renovate properties that are owned by the king and rented out for profit by his estate. The duchy conceded that some bona vacantia revenues are financing the restoration of what it calls “public and historic properties”.

However the king’s estate has also been battling separate questions over its management of another portion of bona vacantia funds that are given to its charities.

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Lifebandit666@feddit.uk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
ABOLISH THE MONARCHY, fucking parasites

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ramble81@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
“Oops, you caught us… here we’ll transfer some money to you plebs to look like we’re atoning, but we’ll still make money off of it and keep that “

Am I reading that wrong? Ethical or not, it’s still an investment with money they ended up with.

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- Redfox8@feddit.uk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  They haven’t transferred the money to anyone else. An ethical investment fund just selects businesses that meet certain criteria, e.g. no weapons manufacturers or tabacco companies. They haven’t given a penny back to anyone, not even made a donation to e.g. a non-royal family charity or good cause, as far as I’m aware. They’ve just changed the source of funds for the renovations that this particular income was reported to being used for.
  
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Syldon@feddit.uk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Wasn’t even aware this went to the crown. A very good reason why we need transparency with incomes.

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- thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  As per article only in Lancashire and Cornwall. The rest of the UK goes to treasury/exchequer
  
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  - Syldon@feddit.uk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    And you find this ok because?
    
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RobotToaster@mander.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
A weird fact is this also applies to intellectual property like copyright, including those of dissolved companies.

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- Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  If he wants the copyright to a song he should have to sing it on a special episode of x factor.
  
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autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:

The surprise announcement comes amid growing pressure on the king over the Duchy of Lancaster’s use of funds collected from people who die in the north-west of England with no will or next of kin.

On Thursday, the Guardian revealed some of the funds were secretly being used to renovate properties that are owned by the king and rented out for profit by his estate.

Contacted by the Guardian this week, the Duchy of Lancaster initially declined to say whether its charities had invested in any oil or gas, tobacco, weapons or mining companies.

The Duchy of Lancaster’s announcement of a similar policy comes amid growing questions for the royal estate which has long claimed that bona vacantia proceeds go to charity after costs are deducted.

Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, said: “Like so many other local people I was surprised to learn the anomaly that means those dying without a will or heir in the county palatine see their assets passed to the king rather than the state.

It’s an unjust and archaic hangover from the medieval times and I’ll be seeking advice on how to bring my constituents’ rights out of the feudal era.”

The original article contains 981 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

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