King Charles III of the British monarchy has allegedly been using money collected from Brits who died without a will or next of kin to upgrade his real estate empire, according to newly leaked documents.
The king has been accused of using medieval laws to nab tens of millions of dollars intended for charity from the assets of dead Brits in order to finance upgrades in rental properties owned by the monarchy, including agricultural buildings, barns, cottages, and townhouses, per newly leaked documents from The Guardian.
Ancient feudal laws in England, also known as "bona vacantia," dictated that the assets of people who die without a will are reverted to the king through the Duchy of Lancaster, which was created in the late 13th century. The law also means the duchy obtains assets from companies when they fold. Over the last 70 years, Charles and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, have allegedly extracted what is equivalent in today's money to £1.2 billion from the estates or roughly $75 million.
The report also noted that the dxuchy has long claimed it will donate the money collected from estates to charity. However, the outlet argued that only 15% of the funds have been directed to charities over the past decade.
The outlet also noted that the king received £26 million or $32 million from the Duchy of Lancaster this year. The duchy does not pay corporate tax or capital gains tax.
Duchy Denies the Claims
A spokesperson for the duchy said the funds are being directed to three charities, namely the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund, the Duke of Lancaster Housing Trust, and the Jubilee Trust.
The spokesperson also argued that Bona vacantia funds are only being used to repair and preserve public buildings and not to generate income.
"The king reaffirmed that money from bona vacantia should not benefit the privy purse, but should be used primarily to support local communities, protect the sustainability and biodiversity of the land and preserve public and historic properties across the Duchy of Lancaster estates," the spokesperson said. "This includes the restoration and repair of qualifying buildings in order to protect and preserve them for future generations."
The Buckingham Palace has yet to release any statement regarding the report.
