The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch ‘in right of The Crown’, that is, it is inherent with the accession to the throne. But it is not the private property of the monarch – it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the sovereign.
The Government also does not own The Crown Estate. It is managed by an independent organisation – established by statute – headed by a Board (also known as The Crown Estate Commissioners), and the surplus revenue from the estate is paid each year to the Treasury for the benefit of all UK taxpayers.
To explain further, one analogy that could be used is that The Crown Estate is the property equivalent of the Crown jewels – part of the national heritage and held by Her Majesty The Queen as sovereign, but not available for her private use.
How did The Crown Estate come into being?
Although the ownership of some property can be traced back to Edward the Confessor, the estate as a whole essentially dates from the time of the Norman Conquest.
In 1760, George III reached an agreement with the Government over the estate. The Crown Lands would be managed on behalf of the Government and the surplus revenue would go to the Treasury. In return the King would receive a fixed annual payment – what we call today the Civil List.
For more information, please visit Our History.
Today, The Crown Estate operates under the auspices of The Crown Estate Act of 1961, which declares that the estate shall be managed by a Board who have a duty to maintain and enhance the value of the estate and the return obtained from it, but with due regard to the requirements of good management.
What is The Crown Estate’s relationship with HM Treasury?
The Treasury is effectively the principal Government stakeholder for The Crown Estate. They are kept informed of the estate’s overall business plans and strategies, although responsibility for the management of the estate rests with the Board.
The Crown Estate is formally accountable to Parliament to which it reports annually.
The working relationship between The Crown Estate and the Treasury is described in a framework document which is updated annually or as occasion requires.
The Treasury and The Crown Estate PDF (115 KB)
Does The Crown Estate manage the Royal Palaces?
No. The royal residences are divided into two categories:
1) Occupied Royal Palaces
Administered by the Royal Household and held in trust for future generations, e.g. Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. For further information, please visit the British monarchy website:
2) Private Estates
Her Majesty The Queen’s private possessions handed down from previous generations, e.g. Balmoral and Sandringham. The Historic Royal Palaces agency administers the palaces that are no longer in official use and are open to the public, e.g. Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London. For further information, please visit the Historic Royal Palaces website:
Does The Crown Estate manage the Royal Parks?
Windsor Great Park is the only Royal Park that is managed by The Crown Estate. All other Royal Parks are administered by The Royal Parks agency.
Is the Royal Family involved in the running of The Crown Estate?
No. The Crown Estate is run by a Board (The Crown Estate Commissioners) and their staff.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is Ranger of Windsor Great Park, although daily issues are dealt with by Philip Everett, Deputy Ranger. For further information please visit:
Is there any relationship between The Crown Estate and the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster?
No. The two Duchies are completely separate organisations and operate under their own statutes.
For further information:
The Duchy of Cornwall
10 Buckingham Gate
London
SW1E 6LAtelephone: 020 7834 7346
The Duchy of Lancaster
Lancaster Place
Strand
London
WC2E 7EDWhat is ‘Crown land’?
This is a phrase often used to cover a variety of different properties such as:
- Land belonging to The Queen
- The Queen’s private property
- Land held in trust by The Queen as Sovereign
- Properties of the Duchies
- Government land
All of these definitions are partly correct, but naturally it can be somewhat confusing. To avoid this, we always refer to our property and land as being ‘The Crown Estate’.
What is Old Land Revenue Property?
Old Land Revenue Property is property that has been occupied by the Ministry of Defence or another government department since before 1702 (when by Act of Parliament the responsibility for the armed forces was changed from the Sovereign to the Government). When such property is no longer required by the Ministry of Defence or other government department it returns to the management of The Crown Estate.
Notable examples include Chester and Dover castles, which are both now managed by Natural England.
Does The Crown Estate have any shops, offices, flats or houses to let or for sale?
The Crown Estate conducts all its lettings and sales through property agents. Contact details for all the agents are available through our estate maps or managing agents pages on this website.
How much foreshore does The Crown Estate own?
The Crown Estate owns over half of the foreshore around the UK coastline, although much of this is leased to third parties such as local authorities and Natural England.
The remainder is owned by bodies such as the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, local authorities, port authorities, statutory bodies, government departments and the following distinctive examples:
- The Church Commissioners in Durham
- The Duke of Beaufort in the Severn Estuary
- The Beaulieu Estate on the River Beaulieu.
The Crown Estate does not generally own the foreshore around the coastline of Cornwall, Sutherland and the Shetland Isles.
What happens to the boundaries of the marine estate when the sea advances or retreats?
If the process of change is natural, and happens imperceptibly from day to day, then ownership changes accordingly. Therefore, if land used to be tidal (e.g. foreshore or riverbed), it becomes the property of the adjacent landowner. Conversely if land erodes and naturally converts to tidal, then it becomes the property of the tidal landowner. Often this can be The Crown Estate.
If the change is sudden and immediately visible, e.g. the breaching of flood defences in a storm, then the ownership remains as it was unless alternative agreements are made. The same is the case where changes occur as a result of man's actions, e.g. reclamation or digging out basins.
Do whale carcasses beached on Crown Estate foreshore belong to The Crown Estate?
No. Whales, amongst other species, are part of what is known as ‘Royal fish’, and when beached, theoretically The Queen can claim ownership.
In practice however, they are dealt with by a government agency, dependent on the location of the whale.
England, Wales & Northern Ireland
Please contact the Receiver of Wreck, which is part of the Coastguard Agency.
Receiver of Wreck
The Coastguard Agency
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EGtelephone (office hours) 02380 329 474
Scotland
The responsibility for Royal fish less than 25 feet in length rests with the local authority, who may wish to arrange for their disposal.
For whale carcasses over 25 feet in length, the local coastguard should notify the Scottish Government’s Marine Scotland Directorate. They should also inform the Scottish Agricultural College, Veterinary Section, Inverness, who record all cetacean strandings around Scotland and who may wish to undertake a post-mortem.
The Scottish Government have produced guidance on how to respond to the stranding of a Royal fish - please follow the link to the Scottish Government website.
Marine Scotland contact details to report Royal fish:
telephone: 01224 295 579 (office hours)
07770 733 423 (outside office hours)
email: MS.MarineLicensing@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
fax: 01224 295 524Scottish Agricultural College contact details to report stranding:
telephone: 01463 243 030
email: stranding@sac.co.uk
fax: 01463 711 103Please note: LIVING whales should be reported to:
- RSPCA (England & Wales): hotline 0870 5555 999
- SSPCA (Scotland): hotline 0870 737 7722
- British Divers Marine Life Rescue: hotline 01825 765 546
Does The Crown Estate take ownership of ‘unclaimed land’?
Freehold land can sometimes effectively become ownerless. When this happens title to the land may, in certain circumstances, revert to the Crown as the ultimate owner of all the land in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. This process is called ‘escheat’. It can happen in a variety of situations.
The Crown Estate deals with escheat where the land falls within England, Wales or Northern Ireland and outside Cornwall and the County Palatine of Lancaster – where escheat is dealt with by the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster respectively. Contact details for the Duchies are set out above: Duchies contact details.
Ownerless land in Scotland is administered by The Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer.
The Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer
Escheat should not to be confused with what in common parlance might be called ‘unclaimed land’. Land can often have no apparent owner, but The Crown Estate will not generally be involved with such land unless it is in fact ownerless in circumstances where escheat applies.
Land comprised in the estates of persons who died without making a will and without known family is administered by the Treasury Solicitor.
If you wish to raise an issue relating to land which you think may be subject to escheat please contact our solicitors Burgess Salmon LLP. For their contact details and further information please visit the following guidance note:
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Thursday, 21 July 2011
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