For generations, the Royal Family has concealed assets totaling more than $223 million, hidden within 33 wills that were kept under lock and key – confidential.
Republic World reports that it has been revealed that, for generations, members of the royal family have concealed details of assets worth more than $223 million. These resulted from a series of secret legal applications that were granted away from public scrutiny, The Guardian reported. Continue reading and we’ll delve a little deeper into the matter.
Royal Family News – What A Tangled Web Royalty Weaves
The assets are outlined in upwards of 33 wills drawn up by Windsor family members over the span of more than a century. While the numerous royal wills were kept private, the Guardian revealed that senior UK officials privately questioned the practice believing its legality debatable.
In normal practice in the UK, the wills of the deceased are generally open. To boot, senior government officials in Britain warned lawmakers not to discuss the matter of Royal wills in Parliament.
Throughout the past century, high court judges have issued secret orders allowing the wills of 33 Royal Family members to be kept confidential – following, in each case, closed-door hearings. With inflation, these assets are now worth over $223 million, according to the report.
Royal Family News – Transparency Doesn’t Apply to Royals?
According to Republic World, as early as last year Queen Elizabeth II lobbied the British government to change a law in order for her to conceal her “embarrassing” accumulation of private wealth from public scrutiny. After a series of memos were uncovered from the National Archives, the Guardian revealed that the Queen’s private lawyer, Matthew Farrer, pressured UK ministers to change proposed legislation in order to prevent her private income from being disclosed publicly.
Succumbing to the pressure, the UK government inserted a clause into the law that granted itself the authority to exempt companies used by the “heads of state” from the expectation of transparency. The Guardian reportedly claimed that the archaic “Queen’s consent” procedure of seeking approval from the sovereign before passing legislation acted as a stumbling block for the law. Be sure and stay up to date with this developing news and return here often for more Royal Family News and updates.