Royal Family news reveals that following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a wave of sympathy washed over Britain’s royals. Amid that, however, lies something a bit more uncomfortable. Read on and we’ll fill you in on the details.
Royal Family News: Support for Royals Not Yet Waning
Royal Family news reveals that, though the world has been quick to sympathize with The Firm in the wake of Her Majesty’s passing, this doesn’t look like it is going to last. According to The Washington Post, tributes have arrived from throughout the globe.
While the streets of London have been crawling with thousands of mourners waiting, sometimes for up to 30 hours, to pay their respect to the Queen, polls have indicated a surge of support for the new King who has never been high on the list of popular British royals. However, underneath all this sympathy, there lurks a far more uncomfortable sentiment for the aged monarchy: Scrutiny.
King Charles III Won’t Pay Taxes on Inheritance
In the short time since the Queen’s passing, there has also been some heated debate over the Royal Family’s role in Britain’s bloody history of colonialism. New questions about the secretive and unusual financial arrangements have arisen regarding the likely hundreds of millions of dollars in inheritance that Charles apparently won’t be paying taxes on.
According to the Guardian, a clause agreed on in 1993 by the then prime minister, John Major, states that any inheritance passed “sovereign to sovereign” avoids the 40 percent levy applied to assets valued at more than $375,000.
The estate of the British Crown has an estimated $17.5 billion in assets, of which 25 percent of the profits are given to the royal family as the sovereign grant.
Britain’s Treatment of Dissenters Questioned
Arrests of anti-British protesters recently are drawing scrutiny over how Britain handles criticism of the Royal sovereign. However, overall public sentiment for the Royal Family remains supportive, both at home in Britain and throughout the world, understandably in the given situation.
However, as the extended period of mourning continues (the Monarch’s funeral is in just shy of a week) the UK public will have ample time to reflect on the Royal Family and what its new alignment means to the rest of Britain, if not the world.
Scrutiny Not Simply at Home
Notably, this heated debate isn’t limited to Britain. As readers know, the “empire” on which “the sun never sets” will see links to the Royal family throughout the world, like it or not. Discussing Nairobi, a nation with a bloody history with Britain, The Washington Post’s Rael Ombuor revealed how even families of former Kenyan freedom fighters felt sympathy for the British people and the royal family in particular.
However, they also remembered the havoc that Britain imposed on the anti-colonial forces in their country. Time will tell how this scrutiny will play out for the British monarchy. Be sure and return here often for more Royal family news and updates.