Cameron says he gave Queen ‘generous deal’ on income from Crown Estate – including Wales’ waters
David Cameron has said that he gave the Queen a “generous” deal when he created a grant that allocated revenues from the Crown Estate to the Monarchy every year – including from Wales’ sea bed.
The sovereign grant was created to rescue the Royal Family’s finances after they began “running out of money to fix things,” he said.
His comments in the new book Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, by Robert Hardman, come as calls have grown in Wales for the Crown Estate to be devolved, as it is in Scotland.
Last month a Senedd committee called for the revenues to be devolved and the income spent on tackling climate change. It is currently owned by the Queen, who gets 25% of the profits, with the rest going to the UK Treasury. Its marine portfolio in Wales is valued at £549.1 million.
“They [the monarchy] genuinely had a money problem in that what had been quite a generous settlement was now not generous. They were running out of money to fix things,” Cameron told Hardman.
“It was generous, but I don’t mind,” he said. “It was better to have something that was long-term sustainable. It would have been much worse if we’d erred on the other side, then had to do the whole thing again.”
The UK Government has so far resisted any attempt to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales, despite the Welsh Government saying they are open to the idea.
After being questioned on the subject in the House of Commons, the Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said: “The relationship that the Crown Estate enjoys with the UK Government, the Welsh Government and stakeholders works very well.
“I do not think there is any public interest or appetite for altering the terms of that arrangement.”
A petition has been set up calling for the devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales.
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No English royals party’s in wales 🏴 stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh
A Family who gets £125,000,000 of our money every year for house repairs and bailing out her favourite sex abusing son while people living in Wales have to resort to foodbanks to survive and the disabled and vulnerable suffer the mendacious policies of a Tory Government. If proof were needed the rich look after themselves and we the plebs can and do rot. #IndyWales #AbolishtheMonarchy
“Works very well” for whom Simon?
Let’s create a, ‘public appetite’, sign the petition and include this travesty on banners during the forth coming independence marches. No public appetite equals limited independent media. The tide is turning. Heddwch Peace.
Why don’t they just come to Cymru and **** in all our fireplaces and be done with it
So the truth of it is, Liz and her entourage are skint and they need the money that is rightfully Wales’ to prop up their disgustingly privileged lifestyle. This is how they got to the positions they’re in now, they stole it from the rightful owners in the first place.
He seems so pleased with himself, giving away something that didnt belong to him in the first place.
How very imperialistic of Cameron. Giving another country’s assets to English Royals so that they have enough money to live in comfort and allow its family members to avoid justice. What an absolute disgrace!. When are people going to wake up and see the light!!??
Call me a bit twp but if it is all owned by Her Majesty then how does a 25/75 split with the government work out? I take I the government sold the 75% to investors because of what? Which part actually retains Welsh money for Wales and the UK? How can the government borrow trillions at will and send it how they like, whilst the Queen they serve and manage her finances/Empire on behalf of can’t muster up £130 million or so for the Crown yet can find about the same amount and billions more for pretty much any cause… Read more »
Even a fool can work out selling businesses that can’t fail thanks to inflation and consumers having no other supplier options is a bad idea. Why would any investors buy a company if there was no profit to be made? What kind of mugs do they take us for? Guess who sits on the top of Welsh waters umbrella… A former Chancellor of the ex-chequer in London, just after he left. Basically, the Queen needed money and London made her give them a national resource, then the company went bust, banks in the Cayman Island’s to avoid paying the very… Read more »
‘“They [the monarchy] genuinely had a money problem ….”‘
Seriously, one of the world’s wealthiest families – with a massive property portfolio – and always the taxpayer to bail them out??
My heart bleeds for them!
Generously giving away OUR stuff to the Bavarian kveen of England. That’s fencing stolen goods surely
It was not Cameron’s to give away