The Queens Embarrassing Stolen Wealth
Following the news of Queen Elizabeth II's demise, the dark days of colonisation, the loot and the ill-begotten wealth of the royalty to the forefront.
Queen Elizabeth had an estimated net worth of $500,000,000 plus holdings and estates worth an about $25,000,000,000, in 2019.
This includes Buckingham Palace, worth over $1 billion, and Balmoral Castle, worth nearly $70 million.
The Queen successfully lobbied the government to change a draft law in order to conceal her “embarrassing” private wealth from the public, according to documents discovered by the Guardian.
Unlike the better-known procedure of royal assent, a formality that marks the moment when a bill becomes law, Queen’s consent must be sought before legislation can be approved by parliament. It requires ministers to alert the Queen when legislation might affect either the royal prerogative or the private interests of the crown.
A series of government memos unearthed in the National Archives reveal that Elizabeth Windsor’s private lawyer put pressure on ministers to alter proposed legislation to prevent her shareholdings from being disclosed to the public.
Netizens on Twitter demanded the UK give back the Kohinoor diamond to India. Many people believe the precious diamond, which is now mounted on the crown of the Queen, should be rightfully back in India
“Embarrassing” private wealth.
London and the Slave Trade
All over Britain families benefited from the Atlantic slave trade. Bristol and Liverpool were the most important ports. Approximately 1.5 million enslaved people - about half those taken by the British from Africa - were carried in ships from Liverpool. London was also one of the main trading centres (particularly in earlier years of the slave trade) because of the transport links provided by the River Thames and the London docks. Merchants based in Blackheath, Deptford and Greenwich handled some 75% of sugar imports.
Famous Stolen Items
Rosetta Stone
Amidst the call to bring Kohinoor back to India, Egyptian activists and archaeologists want to bring the Rosetta Stone back to its homeland i.e. Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is currently on display at the British Museum. According to many local newspapers, archaeologists claim that they can prove that the Rosetta Stone was “stolen” by Britain. The Rosetta Stone dates back to 196 BC and according to historians, the famous stone was acquired by Britain after they won the battle against France in the 1800s.
Tipu Sultan’s ring
Tipu Sultan’s ring was allegedly taken by the Britishers from his slain body in 1799 after he lost the battle against them. According to many media reports, the ring was sold at an auction in the UK to an unidentified bidder for around 1,45,000 British pounds.
Elgin Marbles
According to many media reports and archives in History, in 1803, Lord Elgin allegedly removed the marbles from the Parthenon’s decaying walls in Greece and transported them to London. This is also the reason those precious marbles are called Elgin Marbles.
