London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Queen accused of lobbying govt to change 1976 transparency law to shield her ‘potentially embarrassing’ finances

Queen accused of lobbying govt to change 1976 transparency law to shield her ‘potentially embarrassing’ finances

The National Archives documents point to an effort by the British royal family to get a special exemption from transparency rules of the Companies Act. The law authorises directors of public companies to demand disclosure of beneficiaries from nominee shareholders — a measure meant to prevent secret consolidation of ownership through front companies.
In the 1970s, Queen Elizabeth II sent her solicitor to lobby the government, which consequently amended a draft law to shield her personal finances and extravagant wealth from scrutiny, archived documents have revealed.

Unearthed by the Guardian, the National Archives documents point to an effort by the British royal family to get a special exemption from transparency rules of the Companies Act. The law authorises directors of public companies to demand disclosure of beneficiaries from nominee shareholders — a measure meant to prevent secret consolidation of ownership through front companies.

A clause in the law, reportedly inserted after the Queen’s intervention, allows the state secretary to shield entities from scrutiny for “special reasons.” Such an exemption was reportedly given to a single subsidiary of the Bank of England called Bank of England Nominees Limited (BOEN).

Created to “hold securities as nominee only on behalf of Heads of State and their immediate family, Governments, official bodies controlled or closely related to Governments, and international organisations formed by Governments or official bodies,” according to the government, BOEN was long believed to be a vehicle for the Queen to hold shares.

The Guardian has published several documents indicating that Buckingham Palace actively lobbied the government of Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, which wrote the bill, to keep royal ownership of shares opaque. Matthew Farrer, then a partner at the prestigious law firm Farrer & Co, was dispatched on behalf of the Queen to discuss the draft legislation, the newspaper said, citing the documents.

One civil servant named CW Roberts said in a 1973 memo that Farrer “regards any disclosure of the beneficial ownership of shares by the Crown, even if restricted to the directors of the company, as potentially embarrassing, because of the risk of leaks.”

Multiple fixes for the problem were considered, before a suitable one was found. Another memo by then-Minister of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs Geoffrey Howe outlines the solution which eventually became Section 27(9) of the Companies Act and says it has been discussed with “the legal advisers to the Queen.”

“While they cannot of course commit themselves to using the suggested new facility, they accept that it is a perfectly reasonable solution to the problem which they face, and that they could not ask us to do more,” he noted. “I am therefore arranging that the necessary provisions should appear in the bill.”

According to the Guardian, the royal family’s intervention was made possible by a parliamentary procedure known as the ‘Queen’s consent’, whereby the monarch must be informed about any pending legislation that may affect royal prerogative or their personal affairs. Consent is given before a bill can proceed to the third reading in the parliament.

No record of consent being given for the Companies Act was found, the Guardian said, attributing this to the bill's unusual path towards becoming a law.

While it was prepared under Prime Minister Heath, it never made it to the third reading while he was in power. The Labour government of Harold Wilson took over after the February 1974 general election, and it took two more years before the act was adopted. The 1976 version was technically a different bill, though much of it was copied from the previous text.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the allegations of lobbying, but said the Queen’s consent was a “purely formal” procedure.

“Consent is always granted by the monarch where requested by government,” a statement cited by the Times said. “Any assertion that the sovereign has blocked legislation is simply incorrect. Whether Queen’s consent is required is decided by parliament, independently.”

BOEN, the Bank of England subsidiary, has not been exempt from disclosures since at least 2010 and is presently dormant.

The exact wealth of the British royal family remains shrouded in mystery, but there is certainly no shortage of attempts to estimate it. Last year Forbes put the net worth of the monarchy at around $88 billion. The Sunday Times estimated the Queen’s personal assets to stand at around £350 million ($480 million).
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×