I just read your explanation below and I am happy you see my point! What annoys me is much too often the press or some authors infer some of these "Crown" items belong to the State in the same way the Crown Estate does and I think that is wrong. "Heirlooms of the Crown" is an interesting way to put it, but I think "heirlooms of the Monarch" would have been even more to the point if our theory is indeed correct.
--Previous Message-- : : Alec - perhaps you might read my latest : contribution. : : I do think that Victoria almost certainly : had the Hanover matter in mind when she : designated some property to be for the : crown. : : However, come the revolution, as I like to : say, everything will depend on whether that : is conducted in a civilized fashion or by : turmoil and bloodshed. : If civilized, then it will take many : committeees and councils a long time to sort : out just who gets what. : : : --Previous Message-- : Thank you Nellie. : I have always wondered if, legally, the : jewels left to the Crown by Queen Victoria : were State property, as we most often hear, : or should be looked as entailed on the : acting Sovereign. I have no idea of the : exact terms which underpin this bequest, but : I tend to believe the intention at least : was to ensure some meaningful pieces stayed : at the disposal of future Sovereigns, after : the Hanover disaster. I would argue that : these pieces would not automatically be kept : by the British state should Britain ever : become a republic, but that the last acting : Sovereign would have a strong claim to them. : : --Previous Message-- : : I would like to comment on the British : situation only, to not confuse various : issues across countries. : : In the British system it needs to be : remembered that the person who is monarch : functions in two ways - as the monarch and : as a private person. : Anything relating to the crown cannot be : considered private. So items left to the : crown are not for the person to treat as : private property. : : Property held by the Royal Collection is a : third category , which the sovereign holds : in trust, meaning the current monarch holds : it for the next, and so on. : : The Crown Jewels, referring to the : regalia in the Tower, is a fourth category. : It probably belongs to the State but pieces : could belong to the Church. I think : "ownership" pedants could debate : these pieces endlessly regarding who they : belong to. : : I have long felt there is another category, : particularly for the jewels worn by the : Queen; jewels which are her private property : but which pass down the reigning line of the : family - perhaps under an informal : understanding or by some formal arrangement : these days, since Edward VIII. : Royal wills are not made public and we can : only conjecture. : We have been aware of arrangments reached : with governments over inheritances to : avoid death duties - a practical measure : to avoid dissipating a wonderful collection : of private jewels that are used in a very : public way. : : : : : : :
on January 9, 2014, 6:34 pm, in reply to "