The Crown Estate, Which Runs The Queen's Land And Property Empire, Posts Record Profits Of £285.1 Million

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-crown-estate-long-to-reign-over-the-property-market-10340876.html

Property was booming last year, and one landlord reaping the reward is the royal family.

The Crown Estate, which runs the monarch’s land and property empire, has posted record profits of £285.1m for the year to 31 March.

It may not sit on the London Stock Exchange, but if it were to, based on the value of its property portfolio – £11bn, which is 16.7 per cent higher than the previous year – it would be ranked in similar circles to FTSE 100 giants such as British Land and Land Securities.

But the Crown Estate is no ordinary business. It was created by an Act of Parliament and all of its annual profits are returned to the Treasury for the benefit of the public finances. The Treasury then gives 15 per cent of the profits to the Queen.

I'm surprised we haven't had the idiot George on proclaiming that we've just paid off £200m+ of the national debt!

[@contradevian]

Rentiers making money in a Rentier Paradise. Honestly you couldn't make it up.

Its a blooming miracle anyone else can!

UK highest rents in Europe.

http://www.citymetric.com/politics/these-maps-show-britain-now-has-highest-rents-europe-1172

and thats even when you strip out the poor countries

[TheCountOfNowhere]

Let us eat bricks.

[TheCountOfNowhere]

Queen was on sky saying Europe split is dangerous.

I guess by that she means dangerous for the establishment, would be good for the rest of us, IMHO

[longgone]

The queen owns everything in law in the uk , the freeholders are only leasing it from the crown.

company gets liquidated , all unclaimed assets get passed to the crown estate , person dies no one to pass it on to ends up with bona vacantia , another division of the crown estate.

maybe the plan is to make life so expensive that children are out the question , so on death if no will is made and no next of kin the royals get the lot .

cunning plan these toffs

[RandomFactor]

The queen owns everything in law in the uk , the freeholders are only leasing it from the crown.

I was quite surprised when I discovered this. Had (probably like most people) assumed that freehold meant you owned the land under the building. I think perhpas it isn't only the queen who owns everything (if my memory of this article below is correct anyway), but nobody seems to know exactly who it all belongs to, because it's a secret and the records of it were lost or destroyed.

http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2011/03/million-acres-land-ownership

It's longish article, but quite fascinating.

[TheCountOfNowhere]

I was quite surprised when I discovered this. Had (probably like most people) assumed that freehold meant you owned the land under the building. I think perhpas it isn't only the queen who owns everything (if my memory of this article below is correct anyway), but nobody seems to know exactly who it all belongs to, because it's a secret and the records of it were lost or destroyed.

http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2011/03/million-acres-land-ownership

It's longish article, but quite fascinating.

Quick, buy, before the queen misses out.

[jammin35]

I was quite surprised when I discovered this. Had (probably like most people) assumed that freehold meant you owned the land under the building. I think perhpas it isn't only the queen who owns everything (if my memory of this article below is correct anyway), but nobody seems to know exactly who it all belongs to, because it's a secret and the records of it were lost or destroyed.

http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2011/03/million-acres-land-ownership

It's longish article, but quite fascinating.

I remember, when i was a kid, walking with my dad through some local woodland and him telling me i couldn't go in a field because it belonged to somebody. I remember asking him why he didn't own a field. I don't remember the answer, but i do remember feeling perplexed that somebody should have something because of accident of birth.

If i steal a car from Fred and sell it to you, it's still Fred's car in law. I don't understand, therefore, how anybody can claim they own land, since at some point it was stolen from somebody else. The idea that the Crown should own land is therefore wrong in some ways, but right in others. If nobody can prove ownership of land, then it should belong to the state and i am happy for the Crown to represent the state (regardless of whether you are a royalist like me, or a republican, you'd have to admit there are far more malevolent entities out there than the HM). However, we do need a right of access as in Scotland, since i passionately believe that outside of your own private home/garden, land should be owned by and accessible by everybody. Clearly, there needs to be some distinction between the land ownership and what the land is used for, so that it is not your right to destroy crops, but that should not be impossible.

[pipllman]

Kevin Cahill's Who Owns Britain was regarded as near to definitive when it was published

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Owns-Britain-Ireland-Kevin-Cahill/dp/1841953105

Worth a read to people interested in such matters

Land ownership in the UK can be nicely summarised. For big holdings, it was mostly gifted by the monarch of the time as a reward for loyalty or helping the monarch win battles / wars / fights

Then, when the owners realised that the risk of losing land through violence was a bit much, they made it illegal to take land by force (its a rough but true enough interpretation).

You can test this by trespassing on a landed estate and, if challenged, asking the owner is he / she will fight you for a few hundred acres. Most won't.

Edited June 25, 2015 by pipllman

[R K]

Queen was on sky saying Europe split is dangerous.

I guess by that she means dangerous for the establishment, would be good for the rest of us, IMHO

I guess she was referring to the last time her family fell out and demanded millions of young men killed each other on their behalf.

Edited June 25, 2015 by R K

[Debbiebegood]

I guess she was referring to the last time her family fell out and demanded millions of young men killed each other on their behalf.

Spot on! So many wars because of that, including WW1

[longgone]

I was quite surprised when I discovered this. Had (probably like most people) assumed that freehold meant you owned the land under the building. I think perhpas it isn't only the queen who owns everything (if my memory of this article below is correct anyway), but nobody seems to know exactly who it all belongs to, because it's a secret and the records of it were lost or destroyed.

http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2011/03/million-acres-land-ownership

It's longish article, but quite fascinating.

"Under our legal system, the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II), as head of state, owns the superior interest in all land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – even freehold land is not owned outright, as the monarch has a superior interest. This is not usually relevant, though it can become relevant if freehold land becomes ownerless. If this happens, freehold land may, in some circumstances, become owned by the monarch as the owner of the superior interest. This process is called ‘escheat’."

Edited June 25, 2015 by longgone

[evetsm]

we are the most ignorant, arrogant serfs on the planet. We think we're special , we think we are free, but instead we are the most owned people in the world.

Edited June 26, 2015 by evetsm

[pipllman]

we are the most ignorant, arrogant serfs on the planet. We think we're special , we think we are free, but instead we are the most owned people in the world.

Fortunately, with a British passport, it is relatively easy to leave if one finds it too unpalatable.

[evetsm]

Fortunately, with a British passport, it is relatively easy to leave if one finds it too unpalatable.

the non solution of the despot. You don't like our system then run away. Don't solve problems , ignore them

[pipllman]

the realist

if you don't like it and it isn't likely that you can change it, but there is a more attractive alternative on offer elsewhere, go with the alternative

[JustAnotherProle]

Unelected head of state, endorsed by an imaginary being "owns" everything on the basis that their ancestors were the most ruthless and greedy out of all the other ruthless despots of history. What a wonderful example of a progressive 21st Century democracy! Watch the sycophants crawl out of the media woodwork to convince the peasants not to revolt when this is mentioned.

If you want to have a real democracy where your head of state is chosen by the people based on their skills and political mastery:

https://republic.org.uk/

If not, enjoy your serfdom.

[pipllman]

If the majority don't want democracy (real or not), what then?

[JustAnotherProle]

If the majority don't want democracy (real or not), what then?

Then they deserve everything they get, or don't get as the case may be.