Is Britain's King Charles III profiting from deaths of thousands of people?

Britain's King Charles III has been apparently making a profit from the deaths of thousands of people in the north-west of England by collecting their life savings, an investigation by The Guardian has revealed in a report published on Thursday (Nov 23). 

The report added that the assets taken from the dead are "secretly" being used to renovate a commercial property empire, which is managed by his hereditary estate. 

The Duchy of Lancaster is a private estate of the British sovereign and it remains in controversy for several reasons. But this land and property estate generated huge profits for the British monarch. 

The report said that this land had collected "tens of millions of pounds in recent years" under a system that dates back to feudal times. 

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The Duchy, which has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, reportedly collects financial assets known as bona vacantia (vacant goods), which belonged to those who died without a will or known next of kin. 

The investigative report claims that this has been happening over the last 10 years. It has collected more than £60 million ($75mn) in funds, but it has long been alleged that the bona vacantia income is distributed to charities after deducting expenditures. 

When most Britons die without a traceable heir, their assets, money, and other property are given to the Treasury, but if this report is to be believed, the royal family collects the financial assets of others, if they lived in specific areas linked to the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall. 

The Guardian says that after seeing and analysing internal duchy documents it found that only a small percentage of these revenues is being given to charity. 

The newspaper has based its report on cases of several individuals whose life savings have been used to upgrade King's private property.

The report said that the duchy inherits bona vacantia monies from people whose last known address was in a territory known as Lancashire County Palatine and administered by a duke in the Middle Ages. Notably, Lancashire and sections of Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Cumbria are now included in the area. 

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'Property or goods cannot remain ownerless'

The renovations include upgrades including new roofs, double-glazing windows, boiler installations and replacements of doors and lintels, the newspaper said in the report.  

As quoted by The Times, a spokeswoman from the Duchy of Lancaster said: "It is a long-standing principle of UK law that property or goods cannot remain 'ownerless'. Responsibility for such assets, referred to as bona vacantia, is transferred to HM Treasury and in the County Palatine revert to the Duchy of Lancaster." 

"From monies received as a result of bona vacantia, the Duchy of Lancaster makes an allocation to the late claims fund to ensure that any claims received up to 30 years following the administration of an estate can be met. The cost of administering bona vacantia and any costs associated with the upkeep of public buildings and those of architectural importance is also deducted," she added. 

She further stated that the balance is allocated between three charities set up by the late Queen and they support local community initiatives. The spokeswoman also said that King Charles also reaffirmed that money should not benefit the Privy Purse, and should be used primarily to support local communities.