The recent Dispatches investigation on Channel 4 has cast a spotlight on the British monarchy’s finances, exposing issues with transparency and accountability in how public money is spent. While the programme focused on England and Wales, it raises questions that matter just as much in Scotland, where many Scots are increasingly curious – and concerned – about how royal spending and income works here at home.
As with the rest of the UK, taxpayers in Scotland help fund the monarchy, and they deserve to know if that money is being used responsibly, and that the royal household isn’t tapping other sources of income from our public sector and charities. Yet here in Scotland, getting a clear picture of royal expenses can be particularly tough.
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Westminster holds control over most royal spending, even when it affects Scottish affairs. That means Scotland often lacks a say in how public funds are spent on the monarchy within its borders, which raises real questions of accountability.
For one, the Scottish Parliament has no power over royal finances, so there's no local oversight or clear breakdown of costs. Although we have a devolved government,Lack of transparency and hypocrisy by the royal household is a running theme in their affairs. They’re not subject to Freedom of Information requests, despite claiming to represent us as head of state and to be dedicated to public service. They have repeatedly refused to permit their household to be subject to the same laws that govern everyone else – lobbying Scottish ministers to be given exemption to environmental legislation, rejecting the right to roam on the sprawling Crown Estate, and securing exemption from the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act earlier this year. So much for Charles the climate warrior.
How many such laws and regulations have they secured exemptions for behind closed doors? We don’t know. Our attempts to find out, have greater transparency in communication between the Government and monarchy, and have these exemptions removed from our laws was thrown out after barely three minutes of consideration by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee – with unanimous backing by its membership of MSPs Jackson Carlaw, David Torrance, Fergus Ewing (below), Carol Mochan, and Alexander Stewart.
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Support for the monarchy has been dropping in Scotland over the years. The Dispatches documentary may accelerate this trend as the work of investigative journalists delivers where our elected representatives refuse to tread. This could lead to more conversations about what kind of role, if any, the royal family should play in Scotland’s future.
The Dispatches investigation might be just the beginning of a larger shift. In Scotland, this could mean more public demand for transparency and a closer look at the reality of the monarchy behind their rhetoric of environmentalism and public service. Our Republic sees this as the perfect opportunity for people across the UK to think about a fairer, more democratic future – one where institutions, including the monarchy, are held to the same standards of openness and accountability expected in a modern society.
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