Royal Kindness: Prince Charles Paying 200 Furloughed Staff From His OWN Pocket!
Prince Charles has decided to pay for almost 200 furloughed staff members with money out of his own pocket. These staff members working for the Prince of Wales have been relieved from their posts due to the coronavirus.
Economic Crisis
Due to the coronavirus crisis, the Palace has decided to limit the number of staff members to lessen the risk of exposure. Almost 200 staff have been furloughed, but the taxpayers' money won't be spent on them.
Instead of turning to the government, Prince Charles has decided to shoulder the salaries of the employees using the reserves from his charities.
In addition, his former valet Michael Fawcett -- who now helps run Prince Charles' Foundation -- has taken a significant cut from his six-figure salary. A source from inside the charity revealed that with all the attractions closed, it has become impossible for them to raise the $4.5 million annual wage bill of all their staff members.
It is understood that the regular staff will be receiving 100 percent of their monthly wage while the variable hours' employees will receive at least 80 percent of their monthly wage. All the senior members of the staff, including Fawcett, have volunteered to take a pay cut to hopefully "lead by example".
The foundation was created to merge several different charities, including the Prince's Foundation for Building Comunity, The Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust, and The Prince's School of Traditional Arts in 2018. They generate almost half of their income from visitors, fees, events, partnerships, and all other commercial activities.
A spokesperson from the charities confirmed that they have put almost 200 of their staff members on leave.
"The Prince's Foundation has put a number of staff members on furlough. However, it is not accessing financial support from the Government's job retention scheme," the spokesperson said.
The spokeperson added that some of their staff have also been working from home. "Where possible, some staff are continuing to work from home. The Prince's Foundation is paying the salaries of its staff."
The decision to put the staff on furlough has been due to the growing economic crisis caused by the coronavirus crisis. It remains unclear whether more staff of the other members of the royal family will be put on furlough, too.
More Jobs Threatened
The Queen's private Scottish retreat at Balmoral is one of the key sources of income of the royal family. It should have opened this month as it relies heavily on visitor income to cover its operational costs, including the salary of the staff.
A spokesperson from Buckingham Palace refused to give a comment on whether staff members from the Queen's private homes have been furloughed, too. However, the Palace of Holyroodhouse -- the Queen's Scottish residence in Edinburgh -- has already decided that they won't be asking any of their staff members to go on leave.
"There are no plans to furlough Royal Household colleagues. Recruitment for summer staff is ongoing but, as it is uncertain when the residences might reopen to the public, this is being kept under review," a Royal Collection Trust spokesperson said.
The coronavirus pandemic has evolved from being just a health concern to an economic problem. As it continues to threaten people's health, COVID-19 has led to instability in the world economy, causing more people to lose their livelihood.
