think perhaps KCIII felt there was a bit of royal culpability because over its long history, Fairbridge had royal patrons, Edward VIII and the then Duke of Gloucester.I find the whole thing baffling in that I don’t understand why it’s even a charitable issue. The horrific crimes were not something the Prince’s Trust was responsible for so why did they ever take it on? The compensation has been determined by two government enquiries, both here and in Australia and I thought the Australian one had already paid out tens of millions? It was all sanctioned and supported at state level by all accounts, despite both governments being aware of what was going on decades before putting a stop to it. The government here should have stepped up, not handed it off.
I think perhaps KCIII felt there was a bit of royal culpability because over its long history, Fairbridge had royal patrons, Edward VIII and the then Duke of Gloucester. But he still should never have touched it with a barge pole! I know he’s one of the charitable world’s very biggest donation gatherers so maybe he thought he could gather enough rich people to help fund the compensation.
But people donating to charity want to know their money is being used fund future projects doing some good in the world. It should have been basic common sense that it would be impossible to find donors to fund compensation for past crimes, no matter just how vital it is that the victims do get it. It seems the Prince’s Trust had been pretty dim if they thought anyone would cough up enough to fund multi millions for this. All that it’s done is that a well intentioned ambition has involved the charity in scandal it didn’t need to have anything to do with. Stupid frankly!
You're right Turtle. Another Guardian article...
"Its early supporters included the then Prince of Wales – later King Edward VIII – who donated £1,000 to Fairbridge in 1934, declaring: “This is not charity. It is an imperial investment.” Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, donated £2,000 of her wedding gift to Fairbridge in 1948.
Reports of abuse and maltreatment at Fairbridge and other homes and schools for migrant children began to emerge after the second world war. The UK Home Office attempted to blacklist some of the schools in the mid-1950s, but its plans were sidelined after lobbying by powerful individuals, including HRH the Duke of Gloucester, at the time the president of the society.
The child migrant schemes gradually fell out of favour, though some operated until as late as 1980."
Children arriving in Australia. This is one of the saddest photos I have ever seen.
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