KEIR Starmer and John Swinney are “more than happy” to “bow in deference” to the monarchy, a republican campaigner has claimed.
Tristan Grayford, of Scottish anti-monarchy group Our Republic, spoke to The National about whether he feels investigative media coverage of the royal family will increase in the future on the back of a key Channel 4 Dispatches investigation.
The broadcaster aired a probe last month into the “secret millions” the royal family are earning each year.
It revealed how the King and Prince of Wales’ private estates – the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall – had struck rental deals worth millions with the armed forces, NHS and state schools.
Grayford described it as a “major moment”, highlighting how unusual it was for leading media outlets to investigate the royals without a specific scandal or news story prompting it.
It comes after polls throughout the year have suggested support for the monarchy is falling.
But asked if he felt media coverage of the royals would change going forward, Grayford said it would depend on the tone set by political leaders.
And he cast doubt on whether “status quo” Swinney and Starmer would be the ones to influence any transformation.
“It’s going to come down a lot to the tone set by political leaders,” said Grayford when asked about future media coverage of the royals.
“I think there’s an unfortunate case where media outlets tend to herd behind the tone set on some issues.
“It’s not so long ago we had Humza Yousaf [a republican] who didn’t really care, and even Boris Johnson, because he was such a disaster zone, he wasn’t capable of being a stable status-quo defence for the monarchy.
“I think because we’ve got two status-quo, everything-should-stay-in-its-rightful-place kind of leaders at the moment, we might end up with a system that is less likely to push the boundaries.”
However, Grayford speculated that with Reform making progress across the UK, Labour and the Tories may need to think more “radically” while the SNP could challenge the monarchy as part of a “new appeal” after a poor result in the General Election.
With the SNP in particular, he said challenging the monarchy could form part of that.
Grayford went on: “I think with Reform chomping at their heels, both Labour and the Tories might have a bit of a shift to thinking about how things can change more radically.
“I think the SNP is struggling recently too and they need to find a new appeal to people and that might come with challenging things like the monarchy.”
The Dispatches investigation reported that last year the Duchy of Lancaster agreed a deal to store a new fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses at a cost of £11.4 million over 15 years.
It also said the Duchy of Cornwall had charged the Navy more than £1m since 2004 to build and use jetties and moor warships on the Cornish coastline.
The duchy will also earn around £600,000 over the lifetime of six different leases agreed with local state schools, the investigation found.
The Duchy of Lancaster is a portfolio of land, property and assets across England and Wales held in trust for the Sovereign, including key urban developments, historic buildings, high-quality farm land and areas of great natural beauty, dating back to the 14th century.
The Duchy of Cornwall is a similar portfolio valued at more than £1 billion which provides an income for the heir to the throne.
