Desirae Beck
The Queen of England lobbied the government to change the bill in 1873 so it wouldn't have to go public, according to the Guardian investigation.
A series of memos at the National Archives show that Queen Elizabeth's private lawyer in November 1973 pressured ministers to change draft laws preventing the disclosure of her property, the Guardian newspaper.
The Queen of England gave a speech to encourage people to pass Covid-19 from Winsor Castle, England, on April 5, 2020 Photo: Reuters
After the Queen's intervention, the British government added a provision to the law, granting exemptions to companies working for "heads of state" that do not need to comply with the new property transparency law.
This deal, made in the 1970s, was used to create a state-owned shell company, managing many of the Queen's private investments and shares until at least 2011. Real scale
Archives showed that in November 1973, the Queen was afraid that drafting a law on transparency of the company's shares could make the public know her own assets, so she sent a lawyer to ask the government to change.
Matthew Farrer, then a partner at the law firm Farrer & Co, met with Commerce and Industry officials to discuss transparency proposals in the bill by former Prime Minister Edward Heath's government.
The bill prevents secretive investors from holding a significant stake in listed companies by buying back shares through a front company or representative.
While working with British Commerce Department officials, lawyer Farrer conveyed the Queen's protest, and offered to grant her immunity in the bill.
A few months later, Commerce Secretary Geoffrey Howe proposed to insert a clause into the bill giving the government the right to waive specific companies from the requirement to declare shareholder identities for the benefit of many.
This proposal was passed into law in 1976, under Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
The Queen's shares are said to have been transferred to the company in April 1977, according to a book published in 1989 by journalist Andrew Morton.
This company closed 4 years ago.
Buckingham Palace did not respond to questions about whether the Queen had been lobbying to change the bill, or whether she would put pressure on the government.
