Charles Windsor, heir to head of state, took £11,913,000 from the Duchy of Cornwall last year before tax. This was nearly £2m more than the previous year. Some of this income was spent on what are termed "official" duties.
The value of the estate increased by £55m to £463m, growth of one-fifth. Although Mr. Windsor does not own these assets, he takes the estate’s income from rent, dividends and shares. The estate’s agricultural land is valued at £148m. Its commercial property is worth £131.3m.
A MORI poll suggests that two-thirds of the population would prefer that the BBC be financed, at least in part, from sources other than the viewing licence. Twenty-five percent wanted the state media giant to raise some income from advertising and sponsorship.
At present no one in the UK may watch TV of any kind without paying a fee to the BBC, which broadcasts only two of the five main channels.
The House of Commons Public Administration Committee has recommended that no more knighthoods be awarded. Under Britain’s feudal system knights expect to be deferred to as "Sir" or "Dame." The committee said that these titles are "redolent of past preoccupations with rank and class." They would be replaced with the title "Companion of Honour."
If the committee’s recommendations were to be accepted 16 honours would be reduced to 4. The Order of the British Empire (OBE), described as "insensitive" and "inappropriate", would be renamed the Order of British Excellence.
A commission would replace the committees that now nominate people for the feudal titles and other honours. It would make nominations to the hereditary head of state.
A government commissioned report has made more conservative recommendations. Senior Civil Servant Hayden Phillips proposed merely that the nominating committees for honours be more independent of government than at present.
The unelected legislators in the House of Lords have voted 240 to 208 to reject a government proposal to abolish the position of Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor is a government minister who is also head of the judiciary.
The so-called Lords objected to the replacement of the feudal office with democratic arrangements that would separate the judicial and executive roles claiming that it would undermine the rule of law. The government indicated that it expected the House of Commons to overrule the legislators-for-life.
The assets of the Church of England increased in value by £430m to a total of £3.9bn last year. This followed three years of poor results for the state church. The Church Commissioners, who include the prime minister and the minister for sport, reported the figures. The Commissioners are accountable to parliament.
Multi-millionaire former director-general of the state broadcasting corporation Greg Dyke was paid £450,000 when he resigned following criticisms of editorial weaknesses by the Hutton enquiry, it has been revealed. This severance package will be paid for by TV viewers who are obliged to pay the BBC for permission to watch commercial channels.