JR76
Heir Apparent
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2012
- Messages
- 4,869
- City
- Malmö
- Country
- Sweden
Isn't Skaugum outside of Oslo also a working estate?
Bit of confusion once again in one of the paragraphs between Frogmore House and Frogmore Cottage. It says they held their wedding reception in Frogmore House and then renovated it???
"Situated in front of a lake, Frogmore House, where the couple hosted their wedding reception in May 2018, the Grade-II five-bedroom property underwent extensive remodelling to turn five properties back into a single mansion before the couple moved there in April 2019"
Are they "earning" the money yet? Is Netflix handing over a HUGE sum of money, for as yet nothing? WOnt it depend on their actually doing some work for the company, producing documentaries? (that said, I would say they should have paid off their debt on Frogmore asap)I certainly think if they are earning anywhere near the money suggested they shouldn’t be taking decades to pay back the Crown Estate. Why should they be able to milk their royal links for their own profit but the public purse is the one who has to miss out?
Absolutely, I doubt they are earning anything like the amounts reported, but will they come out and say that... i suspect not as image is important to them. More likely they will earn a fraction of the millions Netflix invests in them, just as any production company does. But the reports of the deal added with their new house suggests their lowest priority for their money is the public finances of the UK. Personally I’d pay if off and have one less thing for the media to beat me over the head with and to show respect to the UK.
On a side note- still no annual financial reports for the Household yet?
“These sorts of sums are out of the reach of the vast majority of people in this country who have been trying to make ends meet during the coronavirus crisis.”
Who can argue with that? These brats need reining in.
So we've learned that the Sussexes and Netflix have struck a multi million deal. What we don't know is the terms of the contract. So what happens next? I seriously doubt H&M have received a huge check to just deposit in their bank account to do whatever with (payback Frogmore for one).
IF they did receive money up front from this deal, most likely, as producers, a lot of that is going to be put into the funding of whatever it is that they'll produce. Unless they film at their home and its just them in the documentary, they are going to have costs. A good idea is that the next time you watch a documentary, pay attention to the credits at the end. All those people do not work for free. Who funds the documentary? The producers.
So thinking that H&M just pocketed a big lump sum of green dollars to do whatever they want with is kind of naive. It doesn't work that way.
As far as Frogrmore Cottage is concerned, most likely an agreement has already been made as to the terms of repayment. That's all they have to stick to.
I agree with Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bim Afolami on Harry and Meghan paying back the £2.4 million taxpayer founded bill at a faster rate.
I think this is a warning bell for them, because (as I mentioned in the previous post) it is very rare for Conservative MPs to raise question on royal finances and wealth. Unlike some Labour, Lib Dem or Green MPs, they are mostly staunch monarchists and will most likely defend the royal family.
If anyone is interested in politician views of royal wealth and finances, here is a 11 minute clip in the House of Commons from 2011 (in Cameron-Clegg/Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition). The video mainly feature Jacob Rees-Mogg, who at the time of this video was a backbencher. He is now Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council.
I don't think the Prime Minister, Mr. Rees-Mogg and other Cabinet Ministers (or Secretary of States) in private are supportive of Harry and Meghan (in terms of providing securities or other finances). I said "in private", because they haven't publicly stated these matters.
Still, a deal is a deal. Both parties agreed to the terms. Harry and Meghan repaying the Sovereign Grant for the renovations to Frogmore Cottage isn't going to put food on the table for British citizens or ease the economic crisis one bit.
I could win millions in the lottery tomorrow but my home loan and my car loan wouldn't change or instantly called to be paid in full because I have more money. It doesn't work that way.
That's not the pont. The money paid for the renovation was as far as I know taxpayers money. It wasn't a loan to H and M from a bank.. Harry and Meghan said they'd pay it back.. they have what is a massive fortune by most people's standards and could have paid it back clear and free before they embarked on their new life in the US....
Clearly it was felt that it should be paid back.. since an arrangement was made to do so..It depends on where the money for the renovation came from. If it came from the Sovereign Grant, I would argue it is not "taxpayer's money", but rather the Queen's money as Mr. Rees-Mogg argued in the clip above. Whether the Queen's money should be used to pay for her grandson's house's renovation is, as I said, a different discussion, but I don't see an obligation to pay anything back. And I am not a Harry or Meghan's supporter/ fan as everybody here knows.
If, on the other hand, the renovation was paid directly by the Crown Estate (and not by the Queen out of her grant), then I think a payback might be due.
so why are they dong this job if they don't expect their bank account to be "overflowing with green dollars" in due course. They are doing this to make money and they will need to as they have an expensive lifestyle. And as you know they have a private fortune, so could have cleared the money in the UK before their move to Canada or the USA.Its amazing how people jump on what H&M should do with the money they're reputed to be getting through a deal with Netflix. This deal isn't Harry and Meghan's *personal* money coming in. Its their production company's and will be used to fund and finance the programming they want to produce with Netflix having the streaming rights.
"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have launched a production company, which will be based at Netflix. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a multi-year deal with the streaming giant for scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features and children's programming, Deadline has confirmed."
No where is it hinted that the Sussex bank account is going to be overflowing with green dollars and, hence, can afford to just cut a check for the repayment of renovations to Frogmore Cottage at this time.
Harry and Meghan's production company (which is a commercial business in and of itself) has absolutely nothing to do with Harry and Meghan's private financial status.
It would be interesting to know who he thinks the crown estate would belong to if Britain became a republic. Rees Mogg has the confidence & articulacy typical of his class & education but there is a lack of substance to his arguement.
Based on his reasoning, I suppose he would answer that, if Britain became a republic tomorrow, the Crown Estate would revert to being the personal property of Mrs Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor.
Interestingly, as you have pointed out though, if Parliament changed the line of succession, as it did in 1701 when it picked the 54th in line (or something like that) to succeed, the Crown Estate would still be held in trust (for the duration of his reign) by whoever was chosen to be the next King, who might not be a descendant of Elizabeth II.
Therefore I also disagree with his claim that the Crown Estate is owned personally by the Queen. But I agree with him that the Queen is entitled to receive compensation for surrendering the Estate's revenue (and management) to public bodies. That is where you disagree, I think.
Whether or not they should pay back is rather a moot point IMO as they have agreed to pay it back. There is a point in saying if they are making millions why are they still only going to pay back so little each year.
This goes back to - they could come out and make a point that their production company will be making programmes for Netflix with the streaming service spending up to $150million on their programmes....the couple's company has to fund the making of the programmes which is expensive....any profits at the end of it all will go to the company and some may then go to H&M. They may of course also take a salary, even a hefty salary, but I can't see them earning all that much from this really and production of new ideas can take years. Why they don't just make a point of saying this I don't know....unless they want to be seen as so successful and so rich....