King Charles Invoking Medieval Law, Generating Huge Profits Through Old Tradition of 'Bona Vacantia'
One day, the meek will inherit the earth. But right now, the elite will exploit any loophole they can to take it from them.
An investigation by The Guardian has revealed that King Charles III is secretly generating profits for himself by collecting the assets of thousands of people in the northwest of England who died without a will.
The Duchy of Lancaster is the hereditary estate of the monarch, which “began in 1265, when Henry III gifted the baronial lands of Simon de Montfort to his son, Edmund,” according to the Duchy website.
“A year later, Henry III added the estate of Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby,” the website claims.
Over 700 years later, it seems like the current king is still adding to that inheritance with the properties of people who never intended for him to have it.
According to a report by The Guardian, Charles has collected “tens of millions of pounds” under an ancient feudal law known as bona vacantia.
Revealed: King Charles secretly profiting from the assets of dead citizens.
This money should be going to the public purse for the benefit of people in the North West of England, not the king’s own pocket. Welcome to feudal Britain https://t.co/vAwavJiBAF— nigelpeet (@nigelpeet) November 25, 2023
The controversial inheritance process dates back to medieval times when much of North West England was under the control of the Duchy of Lancaster and its dukes. This territory was once called the County Palatine of Lancaster.
Today, the king’s hereditary estate still clings to archaic rights to collect leftover assets within the modern-day boundaries of Lancashire as well as parts of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria.
When residents of these counties die without a will or next of kin, their financial assets can end up transferred to the Duchy of Lancaster under this antiquated entitlement.
The Duchy claimed that after deducting costs, this money is donated to charities. However, according to The Guardian, leaked internal documents show that only around 15 percent actually goes to charity.
Instead, these funds are being used to upgrade and renovate properties owned by Charles across the country, including holiday cottages, farms, and commercial buildings. Upgrades include installing new roofs, windows, boilers and more to increase the rental profits from these properties.
Charles receives millions each year from the Duchy’s profits, which indirectly benefits his personal income.
The Guardian identified dozens of deceased individuals whose leftover assets were inherited by the king’s estate. Many were living in poor conditions prior to their death.
Friends and family of the deceased expressed outrage over the funds being used this way rather than for charitable purposes, as claimed. A source told The Guardian that practice has been internally regarded by duchy staff as “free money” or a “slush fund” for the new monarch.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the allegations. A representative for The Duchy defended the expenditures as necessary for the ” preservation and protection” of their properties for future generations but admitted there may be an “incidental benefit” to King Charles’ income in the process.
Thomas Jefferson believed that nearly every evil plaguing European societies — inequality, oppression, constraints on liberty — could be traced back to the monarch as its root source. In his view, kings bred injustice.
“There is scarcely an evil known in these countries, which may not be traced to their king, as its source, nor a good, which is not derived from the small fibers of republicanism existing among them,” Jefferson wrote.
This scandal is the 21st-century equivalent of a feudal lord “pillaging” the meager belongings of his serfs.
The Crown, using a legal loophole to profit from the funds of the deceased, serves as a stark reminder of why the Founding Fathers dissolved the political bands connecting us to the British Crown over two centuries ago.
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