Class War over Royals hunting rights at Balmoral
The Gordon Family had owned the estate adjacent to Balmoral since James 111 gave it to them in 1482. For the last 175 years the estate has been leased to the Royal Family for shooting and hunting after an agreement with Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. In 1998 the then owner John Gordon bumped up the cost of the lease which Queen Elizabeth 11 agreed to pay.
However in 2021 Alistair Storey the CEO of a hospitality company bought the estate for £23m and plans to use it for commercial hunting and shooting. The Royals have been given notice to clear orf the land.
The whole episode seems to echo the Perry Anderson and Tom Nairn analysis of the British ruling class where they argued that the landed aristocracy rather than industrialists were still really running things. The Royals remain in place but adjacent to Balmoral business has finally taken charge..
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