London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

50 UK aristocrats, some owning castles, applied for taxpayer-funded scheme aimed at saving businesses amid lockdown – media

50 UK aristocrats, some owning castles, applied for taxpayer-funded scheme aimed at saving businesses amid lockdown – media

Dozens of wealthy nobles have applied for aid that was intended to help struggling businesses survive the lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, a media report says.
The government’s popular job retention programme allows businesses to apply for grants that cover the majority of wages for workers they were forced to furlough during the lockdown.

A least 50 nobles, including dukes, earls, viscounts, and marquesses, have asked for financial aid under the scheme, the Guardian reported on Monday, citing public records. The list is said to include owners of lavish inherited estates, castles, tens of thousands of acres of land, and expensive art collections, as well as hereditary peers already paid by taxpayers to sit in the House of Lords.

The Duke and Duchess of Rutland made four claims of up to £10,000 in December, rising to between £10,000 and £25,000 in January. They are now divorced and live in separate parts of the duke’s ancestral home, the majestic Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, which was recently featured in ‘The Crown’, a TV series about the British royals.

The Rutlands also claimed up to £55,000 for a cafe and a clothes shop they own. The media estimated the duke’s fortune at £125 million in 2013.

Among other claimants was the Viscount of Cowdray, who owns a 16,500-acre park estate with a golf course and a polo club that was frequented by Prince Charles. Another aristocrat, the Earl of Dalhousie, received up to £100,000 in January for a company that operates Brechin Castle in Scotland.

Some aristocrats told the paper they were eligible to benefit from the programme just like everyone else. A spokesperson for the 7,000-acre Wellington estate in Hampshire, co-owned by the Earl of Mornington, heir to the title Duke of Wellington, said that some of its employees were furloughed because Covid-19 restrictions were “preventing the business in question from trading.”

Likewise, the Marquess of Northampton claimed up to £10,000 in December, rising to £25,000 in January, for a hotel. He had an estimated net worth of more than £100 million in 2017, according to a media report. A spokesperson told the paper that “at a time of great uncertainty” the money received from the government was used, “as it was intended, to save jobs.”

As has been the case with similar revelations in the past, the news of wealthy aristocrats receiving government aid ruffled some feathers in Parliament. Labour Party MP Olivia Blake said that the furlough scheme was meant to “be a lifeline for businesses hit hardest by the pandemic,” and it should be checked if the money “has gone to those who really need it.”

In February, the Daily Mirror reported that a total of £455,000 was claimed in December for firms linked to four dukes whose combined personal wealth was estimated at £1.5 billion. Also in February, a report by the Sun said that the same furlough scheme was used by the likes of filmmaker Guy Ritchie and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The revelations sparked outrage on social media and a debate on the use of public funds amid the pandemic.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×