News from the Centre for Citizenship
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Head of State’s Son In Cash “Fiddle”
Charles Windsor, heir to the position of head of state, has been borrowing money from the Duchy of Cornwall and failing to pay it back, according to a report in The Guardian. The newspaper reported that as much as £1.2m had probably been spent on renovations at one of Mr. Windsor’s houses, extra personal staff…
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State Church Rakes In Cash
The Church of England achieved a 13.6% return on its investments in 2004. The record of its investment fund over the last ten years put it in second place out of more than 1000 such funds. According to the Financial Times these profits resulted from heavy investment in commercial and residential property. The state church…
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Licence for Personal Computers Threatened
The government is considering a “levy” on owners of personal computers to finance the BBC. According to its green paper on the future of the state media giant this may be necessary if large numbers switch to watching TV on the Internet instead of using traditional television receivers. It is not clear whether the government…
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New Zealand Republic OK Says Windsor
Charles Windsor, son of Britain’s hereditary head of state, is reported to have said that he would be happy for New Zealand to become a republic. He told conservationist Chris Laidlaw in a 1997 conversation in Christchurch, New Zealand that “to be frank, I think it would come as a great relief to all of…
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Liz Windsor To Command Prayers For Charlie’s Wife
Britain’s hereditary head of state, Liz Windsor, intends to issue a royal warrant instructing members of the Church of England to say weekly prayers for her son’s new wife after they marry in April. Prayers are already said for Windsor, her husband and son. The Church of England, (aka the Anglican Church) is the state…
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Charlie Boosts Australian Republic Support
Ten per cent more of Australians would want their country to become a republic if Charlie Windsor, son of British hereditary head of state Liz Windsor, became “king” on the death of his mother according to a Roy Morgan International opinion poll. Fifty-one per cent of those polled supported a republic at present. However, sixty-one…
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BBC Gets Green Light On Extortion
The Financial Times has reported that the BBC is “relieved” that the government has decided to extend for another ten years its licence to extort billions of pounds from TV viewers. The newspaper reported that a green paper to be published soon will recommend that the state media giant should be able to continue to…
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Labour Government Protects Class System
Britain’s official class system should be left largely as it is, the labour party government has decided. It has rejected a recommendation by MPs that knighthoods and Orders of the British Empire (OBEs) be abolished. Instead the committees that recommend who should get such awards will be open to members of the public in the…
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Windsors Accused of Fiddling
The National Audit Office and Parliament’s public accounts committee have asked the Windsor family to make public the financial records of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall. The property and investments managed by the duchies provide hereditary head of state Liz Windsor and her son Charles with total incomes of £20m a…
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Windsor Waste Continues
The National Audit Office has reported that Andrew Windsor, who is third in line to be Britain’s hereditary head of state, spent £2939 of taxpayers’ money flying from London to Oxford for lunch by helicopter instead of taking a train at a cost of under £100. Another time he chose to spend £4645 of other…