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King Charles III: How I made my millions

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For years, King Charles was preparing to step into the role of monarch following Queen Elizabeth’s history-making reign. In the meantime, he was holding down another job: Owner of a profitable business.

Charles — long a passionate advocate of environmental causes — founded Duchy Originals in 1990 when he was the Prince of Wales to market produce from his farm.

It’s since grown into the largest organic food and drink brand in the United Kingdom, according to the company. In the year through March 2021, Duchy Originals earned nearly £3.6 million ($4.1 million) before taxes.

The brand has had its ups and downs. But it’s thrived since entering into a partnership with Waitrose in 2009. The upmarket grocery chain now has the exclusive right to sell products under the Duchy name, and shoppers can find salmon, sausages, milk, carrots and blueberries bearing the “Waitrose Duchy Organic” name at its stores.

“It’s turned into a very successful business,” said Andrew Bloch, a London-based public relations expert. “You can sense with this brand, it has heart and soul behind it.”

The future is uncertain, though. Control of the Duchy Originals brand is up in the air during a period of national mourning culminating in the Queen’s state funeral on Monday.

“We will liaise with the Royal Household on future arrangements when the time is right to do so,” a spokesperson for Waitrose said.

Ownership of Duchy Originals will most likely pass to Charles’ eldest son Prince William, who also inherits the separate Duchy of Cornwall estate — worth about £1 billion ($1.2 billion). And while the prince has studied organic farming, he’s likely to be less hands-on than his father.

“He’ll be interested, but he’ll entrust others to run it,” said Sally Bedell Smith, a biographer and author of the book “Charles: The Misunderstood Prince.”

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A passion project
Charles spent decades preaching the benefits of organic farming and protecting the environment, even before such issues became mainstream causes.

In 1985, he converted Home Farm, near his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, into a fully organic system. The Duchy Originals venture emerged five years later.

“Since the beginning of the 1980s, when I first had responsibility for managing some land in my own right at Highgrove, I have wanted to focus on an approach to food production that avoids the impact of the predominant, conventional system of industrialized agriculture, which, it is increasingly clear to see, is having a disastrous effect on soil fertility, biodiversity and animal and human health,” Charles told Country Life magazine in 2021.

The first Duchy Originals product was an oaten biscuit sold in 1992. Initially, items bearing the brand were only found in high-end shops such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, though they later expanded into outlets like Waitrose, which caters to wealthier shoppers but has many more locations.

The business was on rocky ground in its early days, Smith wrote in her book. It took on too much debt, and Duchy Originals had to look for new producers and manufacturers once it became too big to rely solely on Highgrove.

Its fortunes later improved, according to Smith. She reported that when Charles visited the British embassy in Spain in 2004, he burst in with gift-wrapped products, announcing, “I’m a self-made millionaire, you know!”

Waitrose steps in
An ill-fated attempt to expand into the United States, however, combined with the onset of the global financial crisis, pushed the business to the brink of collapse.

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Facing millions of pounds in losses in 2009, Charles turned to Waitrose, which threw him a lifeline by agreeing to serve as exclusive distributor.

It marked the end of the prince’s ambitions for a large presence in the US market, but the start of a robust turnaround in the outlook of the business.

“The Waitrose rescue during the financial crisis in September 2009 was absolutely vital,” Smith said.

By 2017, 25 years after the oat biscuit’s debut, the line had expanded to 300 products, including fruits, vegetables, meat and beer, and annual sales reached £200 million ($231 million). More than 30 countries around the world, including the United States, Germany, Japan and Australia, have received exports of select products.

Charles has access to vast personal wealth through his portfolio of land and property, but he has never directly profited from the Duchy Originals business. All royalties collected from Waitrose have been donated to charitable causes. In its annual report for 2019, the firm said it had raised more than £30 million ($35 million) since striking the licensing deal with Waitrose.

“It has provided a very substantial income stream into his foundation and has helped to fund his charitable work as well as to promote organic products,” Smith said.

Still, the venture hasn’t been without controversy. A range of herbal remedies, including the “Herbals Detox Tincture” blend of artichoke and dandelion, was accused by an expert on alternative medicine as based on “outright quackery.” A regulatory agency later said online advertisements for two of the line’s herbal medicines were misleading and instructed Duchy Originals to change the wording.

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William’s new venture?
Changes have been underway in recent years as Charles prepared to take the throne. In 2020, his team said he wouldn’t renew the lease on the sprawling Home Farm, but would continue to farm organically at the late Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk that he had started managing in 2017.

Observers now believe William will take the reins of Duchy Originals and its partnership with Waitrose, part of his new responsibilities as the Duke of Cornwall.

“I think there will be a tension between his new role as King Charles III and what he can and can’t do,” said Bloch, who also has worked on a voluntary basis with Charles’ Prince’s Trust charity. “It’s likely that Prince William will take over.”

Prince Charles looks at produce during a reception in 2013 to celebrate the anniversary of Duchy Originals.
Prince Charles looks at produce during a reception in 2013 to celebrate the anniversary of Duchy Originals.
In his first address to the nation as king, Charles acknowledged that his responsibilities will change.

“It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply,” he said.

“But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”

William spent lots of time on the Highgrove estate growing up and enrolled in an agricultural management course at the University of Cambridge in 2014. Still, Smith doesn’t think he’ll be as involved in the details of the business.
“I wouldn’t imagine he’ll get into the minutiae of it that Charles did,” she said.

 

CREDIT: CNN

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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: Nationwide blackout as national grid collapses again

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1.Nationwide darkness hit Nigeria as the National Grid collapsed for the fourth time in 2024 amid the Easter Holidays. According to sources from electricity Distribution companies in Nigeria, the grid collapsed around 4:30 pm on Thursday.

 

2. Hoodlums numbering about 30 on Thursday burnt a part of the Anaocha Local Government Headquarters in Neni, Anambra State.The hoodlums, who were said to be heavily armed, also set ablaze the Neni Police Station.

 

3. The price of cement decreased between 22 per cent and 26 per cent for a 50kg bag in the Federal Capital Territory within the last five weeks. A market survey conducted on Thursday by DAILY POST in Jabi, Area 10, Kubwa, Lugbe, Utako, Lifecamp and Gwarinpa showed that the price of Dangote and BUA cement dropped to N7,800 and N11,000 per 50kg bag from 10,000 and N15,000 on February 16, 2024.

 

4. Ikolo Clement, King of Ewu kingdom and one of the suspects declared wanted by the Nigerian military, has surrendered himself to the authorities. Clement, a newly installed traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, was among the eight persons declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters.

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5. A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus and members of the Presidential Campaign Council of the party for the 2023 general elections in Rivers State have declared support for President Bola Tinubu and the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara. A former Minister of Transportation and the Director-General, PDP-PCC Rivers State, Dr Abiye Sekibo, made the declaration at a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

 

6. The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has shut down the KFC outlet in Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos over discriminatory treatment meted out to a passenger with Reduced Mobility. The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

 

7. Detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has sued the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over the alleged violation of his fundamental rights. Gambaryan, in a motion dated and filed 18 March by his lawyer, Olujoke Aliyu, sought five reliefs before Justice Inyang Ekwo.

READ  Woman fakes own kidnap, demands N4m ransom in Akwa Ibom

 

8. A Federal High Court in Borno State has ordered the military to release 313 suspected terrorists, for lack of evidence to nail the suspects after investigations. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Gen. Buba Edward, on Thursday, disclosed this during a briefing on military operations across the country in Abuja.

 

9.The Defence Headquarters has said troops neutralized 121 terrorists, apprehended 253 and rescued 244 kidnapped victims in different operations across the country in one week. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen. Edward Buba disclosed this while giving an update on military operations on Thursday in Abuja.

 

10. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, on Thursday, said it has uncovered fraudulent methods used by syndicates to sell rice below the claimed weight at the Garki Modern Market, Abuja. The commission in a statement signed by its acting Executive Vice Chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, said the fraudulent practice was discovered after a targeted enforcement operation at the modern market.

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Kaduna Gov Sani offers free education to rescued Kuriga students

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Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has offered free education to the rescued Kuriga school students under his foundation. 

 

The governor also promised to rebuild the LEA primary and government secondary school in Kuriga, in addition to providing other basic infrastructure in the community.

 

Addressing the children at the state house before their departure to Kuriga on Thursday, Governor Sani assured them that the kidnapping incident, would not in any way affect their education, stating that adequate security has been provided to the Kuriga community, to ensure that the residents go about their daily lives without fear.

 

He also announced an N10m donation to the family of the head teacher, Abubakar Isah who died in captivity, as well as offered scholarships to his children up to university level.

 

“Yesterday, the parents came here, met the children and everyone was happy. I would like to give credit to the children who have since been handed over to the Kaduna State government. They were very patient with us. They also understand the situation they found themselves in. When they came back, we realised that some of their situations were serious mentally. That was why we decided to engage the services of psychologists, and they went through a lot of sessions with doctors and nurses, counselling and therapy. I am happy that all the children here are extremely happy and in high spirits.

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“When we met two days ago, they told me they did not want to go back home, and that they wanted to stay with me for the next two weeks. But I told them it was not possible, and that they had to go home. Their parents are missing them after about 17 days since they last saw them.

 

“They will go home by the grace of God today. And I want to say here today, that all the 137, like I promised them; will be my students by the grace of God. I have already directed the Uba Sani Foundation which has been in existence for the past 16 years delivering free education and healthcare, to look after them.

 

“I have also directed, that a lot of renovation be put in place in the community and the schools because to me, Kuriga community is one of the most peaceful communities in Kaduna State.

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“All the children are back safely, but we lost only one teacher, and may his soul rest in peace. Mallam Abubakar was a good man, and his children have missed him. We all miss him. He was one of the most resourceful teachers in the school, but we lost him.

 

“The Kaduna State government will be supporting the children of Mallam Abubakar through school. We will also be supporting the family with N10m because of what they went through. Mallam Abubakar died due to some medical conditions he had. May his would rest in peace,” he said.

 

The fresh move comes after the governor was said to have allegedly employed the services of a private negotiator, a move which had led to the release of the students from captivity.

 

The news of the children’s release met with further questioning from the public, who demanded an explanation of how the governor was able to secure their freedom.

 

However, while speaking on Channel Television’s Sunday Politics, the governor argued that it was irrelevant whether or not a ransom was paid to free the abducted Kuriga students.

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According to him, what was important was the fact that the government had been able to rescue all of them unhurt.

 

He said: “What is more important today is that our children are back home. Most of those permutations are not necessary. If your child is kidnapped, will you be sitting down and talking about how he was released?

“For me, what is more important is that those children are back home. Their parents are extremely happy and what is important to them is to reunite with their children.

 

“But some people who have no business with the situation are the ones coming out with some irresponsible permutations about whether ransom is being paid, whether someone had gone into the kinetic or non-kinetic approach. What is important to us in Kaduna is that the children are back home.”

 

The schoolchildren were abducted from LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School, Kuriga, about four weeks ago, however, the Defence Headquarters, on Saturday, said they had been rescued.

 

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FAAN shuts KFC at Lagos airport over alleged discrimination against Gbenga Daniel’s son

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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has shut down Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), an international fast food restaurant chain, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, over discrimination against a passenger.

 

On March 27, Debola Daniel, son of Gbenga Daniel, former governor of Ogun state, had posted on his official X page about his experience at KFC, MMIA branch.

 

According to Daniel, the restaurant had stopped him and his family from entering, stating that “no wheelchairs were allowed”.

 

“Just as we were about to sit, the lady at the till – who was apparently the manager – called out loudly, ‘No Wheelchairs Allowed’,” he posted.

 

“She refused to listen to reason and stood her ground that at kfcnigeria Murtala Muhammed branch, wheelchairs and wheelchair users of all shapes and sizes were not permitted in the premises and we should leave immediately.

 

“I have never been the type of person to make a fuss or complain about my disability.”

Reacting to the development in a statement on Thursday, Obiageli Orah, director, public affairs and consumer protection at FAAN, said the authority had investigated the matter and made their decision.

 

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Orah added that the shutdown will take effect from today, March 28.

 

“In line with Lagos State law on people with special needs, Part C, section 55 of General Provisions n Discrimination which states that, ‘A person shall not deprive another person of access to any place, vehicle or facility that members of the public are entitled to enter or use on the basis of the disability of that person’,” FAAN said.

 

“The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has closed the KFC facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos with effect from March 28, 2024.

 

“This is as a result of a social media report by a Passenger with Reduced Mobility (PRM), alleging discriminatory treatment he received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

 

The MD/CE of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi, Kuku intervened swiftly by deploying a management team comprising the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection,  Mrs Obiageli Orah, the Regional  Manager  South West, Mr Sunday Ayodele, Ag. General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo and the International Terminal Manager, Mr Kerri, to investigate the allegation. 

 

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“It is based on the findings of the team that FAAN  has shut down the KFC facility at the MMA, where the incident occurred.”

 

Orah said the authority has instructed KFC management to tender an unreserved apology, in writing, to the affected PRM and a policy statement of non-discrimination be written and pasted conspicuously at the door post of their facility at MMIA before it resumes operation.

 

The authority also apologised to Daniel and assured all airport users that they will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the rights of every passenger are not infringed upon.

 

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