Royal Legacy

How the royal family have made, spent and passed on their wealth

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Pub Date 21 Sep 2017 | Archive Date 03 Feb 2018

Description

Over the last century the British Royal Family have benefited from special privileges like secret wills to keep their private wealth away from public scrutiny. How can Prince Charles afford to live so lavishly - many ask - and how is the Queen able to bankroll other members of her family?

With the discovery of unpublished royal wills, little-known royal auction records and recently-released Treasury papers, David McClure has pieced together a mosaic of the landed property, jewellery and artworks that together forms the bedrock of the royal family’s inherited fortune. 

But like all inheritance tales it’s also a highly human story full of greedy relatives, family splits and skeletons in the closet – and one made all the more timely by the current succession process whereby the Queen hands over some royal duties to the younger generation.

Nosy and irreverent, Royal Legacy takes a peek behind the palace curtains.

Over the last century the British Royal Family have benefited from special privileges like secret wills to keep their private wealth away from public scrutiny. How can Prince Charles afford to live...


Advance Praise

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE.


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781910198650
PRICE $16.99 (USD)

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

I have always been interested in the Royal Family. I found this to be particularly good to read about a subject that is less known about them and the ways in which they ensure that the wealth they have accumulated stays with them. Really good read and very interesting.

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At times it seems that you can not pick up or newspaper or watch the television without encountering a feature or documentary concerning the British Royal Family but stories involving their wealth (how their acquired it and what they do with it ) are remarkably few if any. This imbalance is now redressed by David McClure in his book Royal Legacy which takes an insightful and at times irreverent look at something that is normally hidden well away from the public gaze despite the previous existence of the Civil List now replaced by the Sovereign Grant. Going back over a hundred years this well researched book seeks to find answers and present an understanding of the royal finances. This task is made more difficult due to the Royal family's practice of having sealed wills thus hiding the content from public scrutiny.

This is not only a book about figures but also a fascinating look at how finance has shaped actions and relationships. I was particularly fascinated to read about the negotiations that took place at the time of the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 with Wallis Simpson on the other end of a telephone in the South of France conveying her thoughts regarding the financial deals that were being made, deals incidentally that would contribute to the bad feelings between the Duke of Windsor and the Royals for years to come.

The book is divided into chapters dealing with various major and minor royals some of whom I must confess I have never heard of before. Throughout for the royals there is an undercurrent of fear of paying death duties and the need to preserve and pass on their wealth to future generations. But sometimes needs must and there is a particularly interesting chapter on the "car boot" sale of Princess Margaret's possessions by her son and daughter. We also read of two farcical court cases derived from Princess Dianna's will. There are some important issues raised here including why the Duchy of Cornwall is exempt from normal taxation when it undertakes commercial activities and what paintings should be classed as private or classed as public as part of the Royal collection.

Interesting, well written and insightful I think you will find this a good read that will generate much thought and debate.

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Despite a factual error on the first page (the Duke of Edinburgh's age), I persevered with this book and found it to be an interesting account of the wealth of the Royal Family. The available wills of members of the family provide interesting facts, but it is what is not known that proves most intriguing. Careful inheritance planning and concealment mean that the public will probably never know the true extent of their wealth - the best guess is it is far more than they would like us to know about.

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

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