# Royal Trust

The Royal Trust was a donation to the state proposed in a letter by King Leopold II on 9 April 1900. In addition some properties were added to the donation in a letter of 15 November 1900. The Belgian government accepted the donation by law on 31 December 1903. When the King handed the Congo Free State over to the Belgian government on 28 November 1907, additional properties were added to the Royal Trust. The King donated his properties, such as his lands, castles and buildings, to the Belgian nation. The donation was made on three conditions: the properties would never be sold, they would have to retain their function and appearance, and they would remain at the disposal of the Belgian royal family.

## Quotes

* On the occasion of my 65th birthday, I wish to hand over to the State my properties that contribute to the attractiveness and beauty of the places where they are located.
** Immo Royal, In Belgium you can find more than 7,500 hectares of royal real estate. Journalists conducted an in-depth investigation into the patrimony of the Royal Donation for the first time in 90 years. King Leopold II in a letter to the Minister of Finance on April 9, 1900, in honor of his 65th birthday.
* The majority of the costs goes to places used by the Royal Family, like the Royal Estate in Laeken and their country residence in the Estate of Ardenne because castles, monumental greenhouses and other parts of Royal Estates have great patrimonial and historical value, it is logical that their maintenance takes up more financial resources than is the case for other properties.
** The hidden cost of Belgium’s Royals.
* The Royal Donation is financially completely independent: it is responsible for its own income and expenditure, and manages its own goods and personnel.
** "Immo Royal": how you pay for the properties of the Royal Donation
* This is undeniably the case: the Royal Endowment has its own legal personality and full financial autonomy. It is completely outside the scope of the federal spending budget.
** "Immo Royal": how you pay for the properties of the Royal Donation
* Nobody knows how much the property is actually worth. The Royal Trust itself does not know. The last estimate dates from twenty years ago and is still in Belgian francs. In 1999, the assets were estimated by the public finance department at 221 million euros.
** "Immo Royal": no one knows how much the patrimony of the Royal Trust is worth.
* The Court of Audit, for example, analyzes us every year. In the last three years we have received confirmation that the entire administration and the way we work is in accordance with all standards that can be found. But no one ever asked for more information
** Chairman of the Royal Trust: "Looking at how we can increase transparency."
* Since castles, monumental conservatories and other parts of royal domains have great patrimonial and historical value, it is logical that their maintenance requires more financial resources than is the case for other properties.
** Chairman of the Royal Trust: "Looking at how we can increase transparency."
* The bulk of the maintenance costs of the Domain of Laeken relate to the Royal Greenhouses (which are only open to the public three weeks a year, ed.) and the priceless collection of plants whose maintenance has been accepted by the state. In addition, in addition to our own works, government contracts are regularly put out to tender for the renovation of monumental greenhouses. Such as the Congo greenhouse in Laeken, for which around 1.7 million euros has been budgeted in recent years.
** Chairman of the Royal Trust: "Looking at how we can increase transparency."
* We manage to balance our budget and keep our patrimony in good condition – despite the heavy burdens resulting from the Donation made by King Leopold II – by respecting all the rules that apply to a public institution of the state, under supervision of the Minister of Finance and the Court of Audit.
** Chairman of the Royal Trust: "Looking at how we can increase transparency."
* The Royal Trust should be able to operate financially autonomously. Now the personal interests of the royal family are too much taken into account. We need to conduct a thorough investigation, after which all options are open, including the cancellation of the Royal Trust and the return of certain domains to the royal family so that they can bear the costs themselves
** Committee of inquiry about Royal Donation"

## See also

* Monarchy of Belgium
* Belgium
* Leopold II of Belgium
* Belgian Colonial Empire

## External links

* Royal Trust on the website of the Belgian Royal Family
* Immo Royal - the investigation into the Royal Donation
* Koninklijke Donation on the website of the Belgian Finance ministry
* Authority control: WorldCat search