Crown Estate

In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is the crown estate owned by the British Crown. As the crown jewels he belongs to the monarch in his capacity as head of state, but not its private property and can not be sold by him; nor are the proceeds from him personally. 1760 joined George III. the Crown Estate to from HM Treasury and received in return an annual payment, the Civil List. The Crown Estate is managed by an independent organization that is managed by the Crown Estate Commissioners and is accountable to the Parliament. The portfolio had a value of 8.6 billion pounds in 2013.

• 2.1 Legal framework
• 2.2 possession

History

Crown Estate in England

The history of the Crown lands in England begins with Norman Conquest. When William I died, were the possessions which he had acquired by right of conquest, still largely intact. His successors granted nobles large plots of land and received in return soldiers and weapons. King Edward I extended his possession from Wales, while James I. own lands owned in Scotland, which he combined with those in England and Wales. However, disposals outweighed the acquisitions by far: At the time of the Stuart restoration in 1660, the income from the Crown Estate has been estimated at £ 263,598 ( equivalent to approximately 33.5 million pounds today). At the end of the reign of William III. ( 1700 ) decreased the income of around £ 6,000 ( today approximately 830,000 pounds).

Before the reign of William III. flowed all the income to the monarch, to defray the general government expenditures. There are two types of income:

• Hereditary revenues, mainly from the Crown lands, feudal rights (1660 converted into hereditary excise duties), profits from post offices
• Temporary income derived from taxes, granted to the king for a certain period of time or for life.

After the Glorious Revolution, Parliament retained the greater part of the temporary income under his control, but relieved the monarchs of the cost of the army and navy, and of the burden of government debt. During the reign of William III. , Anne, George I and George II, the monarch remained responsible for maintaining the civilian government and for the support of the royal household. To this end, he was allowed to have the hereditary revenues and certain taxes. Over time, the costs of civil government exceeded the revenue from Crown lands and feudal rights, which the monarch into debt. When George III. in 1760 ascended the throne, he stepped off the income from the Crown lands and the responsibility for the costs of the civil government to the Parliament; Also the debt it has been adopted. In return, he got awarded a civil list and the income from the Duchy of Lancaster.

Although the king had kept extensive hereditary income, his income for his expenses proved insufficient, as George III. his privilege used to reward his supporters with bribes and gifts. During his reign, the debt rose to over three million pounds (equivalent today more than 200 million pounds). The Parliament took over this debt and increased from time to time the amount of the civil list. Each successive monarch, to Elizabeth II renewed this agreement. Towards the end of the 19th century it was regarded as an "integral part of the Constitution, it would be difficult to give up ."

Crown Estate in Ireland

1793 was George III. the hereditary revenues in Ireland and received an additional civil list to deny the role of the Irish civil government. The income included feudal levies, land acquisitions for fortifications, and especially after 1688 even seizures. In the early 1830s, lands were added in Ballykilcline after the main tenant was insane. The sub- tenants were living there with her rent for seven years in arrears. Therefore, in 1846 received the offer to emigrate to North America for free. There are indications that particularly Desperate been used in public construction projects. 1854 was a committee of the House of Lords concluded that the small lands were to be sold in Ireland.

Crown Estate in Scotland

The hereditary revenues of the Crown in Scotland, previously administered by the Barons of the Exchequer, were 1832, 1833 and 1835 transferred to the Commissioners of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings. These possessions consisted primarily of former church lands in Caithness and Orkney, old royal possessions in Stirling and Edinburgh and feudal dues. Most of today's possessions in Scotland ( with the exception of Watts and salmon fishing ) resulting from investments in the 1930s and 1960s. The largest land ownership is Glenlivet Estate, a 23,000 -acre area in the Cairngorms National Park.

Current situation

Legal framework

1961, the Parliament passed the Crown Estate Act, which placed the administration of crown lands on a new legal basis. The Crown Estate has since been a public corporation that is guided by economic principles. The Crown Estate Commissioners are obliged to preserve the value of crown lands and the income from them, and to multiply. They are accountable to the Parliament accountable and publish an annual report. There are a maximum of eight Commissioners appointed by the monarch, which correspond to the management of a company.

The agreed in 1760 Civil List was abolished as of 1 January 2012, along with the grants to the royal travel services and the upkeep of the royal residences. The Sovereign Grant Act of 2011, these payments were replaced by a single one. The monarch receives a future set by the HM Treasury share of the revenues of the Crown Estate (currently 15 %).

Possession

The urban portfolio covers the entire Regent Street and about half of the district of St James 's in London, as well as retail stores and shopping centers in the cities of Oxford, Exeter, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Harlow. The commercial value amounts to about four billion pounds.

The rural portfolio can be divided into four categories:

• Around 106,000 hectares of agricultural land throughout the UK with livestock and agriculture. This figure includes 26,900 hectares of common land ( commons ), mainly in Wales.
• The right to salmon fishing in many rivers of Scotland.
• Approximately 11,000 hectares of forest in Somerset and on the Glenlivet Estate.
• The right to mineral extraction on an area of ​​115,500 hectares ( sand, gravel, limestone, granite, brick clay, coal, slate and natural stone blocks).

The Windsor Estate in Windsor is approximately 6,400 acres in size. It includes the Windsor Great Park, the Home Park of Windsor Castle, extensive forests, residential and commercial buildings, golf clubs and horse racing at Ascot.

About 55 % of Watts in the UK owned by the Crown Estate ( to the other owners include the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster). In Orkney and Shetland the crown makes no claim to the watts. In addition, the Crown Estate owns virtually the entire seabed out to the limit of twelve- mile zone. The Crown Estate plays a significant role in the development of offshore wind farms in the UK. Other areas of responsibility are wave, tidal, underwater cables and pipelines, as well as the degradation of potash. The crown granted licenses for approximately 850 aquaculture and 17,000 berths. There are also various smaller possessions and rights. The crown also has the right to escheat the property, the previously belonged to bankrupt or defunct companies.