The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is calling on the government to launch a public consultation over the way the king’s estate collects money from people who die with no will or next of kin, calling it “a bizarre remnant of feudal Britain”.
The mayor’s comments follow revelations by the Guardian that the Duchy of Lancaster has been secretly using the funds, known as bona vacantia, to renovate properties owned by the king and rented out for profit.
