SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

OtherQueen Elizabeth II

The Queen could owe £8 billion over a 450-year-old debt

A group of friends in the town of Sandwich have written to The Queen asking her to honour a 444 year old debt, which is now thought to be in the region of £8 billion.

The debt comes after Queen Elizabeth I made a promise back in 1572; where she agreed to pay for dredging the River Stour. However, the money never materialised

This led to a group of friends who call themselves the Haven Café’s Breakfast Club to writing a letter to Her Majesty requesting for the debt to be honoured.

The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting, Philippa de Pass, responded to the letter on The Queen’s behalf interested to hear about the club’s discovery and the history behind it.

The letter read: “The Queen was interested to know of the historical accounts you discovered in which you say Queen Elizabeth I came to Sandwich in 1572.

“Although unable to reply to you personally, Her Majesty hopes you have enjoyed looking at the activities and records written so very many years ago.

“I am to send you The Queen’s good wishes and thank you for your thought for Her Majesty in writing as you did.”

However, members aren’t fully satisfied with this response.

Ron Coleman told Kent Online: “We had almost lost hope when the reply came but we were pleasantly surprised, and indeed honoured, that she responded.

“Now then, the lack of a substantive reply to the serious matter of the silting of the Stour is less than satisfactory and we feel that a more considered explanation is necessary.

“If Her Majesty believes that a polite brush off is going to settle the issue I fear she is going to be very disappointed.

“One of our members, an accountant, has calculated the subsequent loss of income to Sandwich over the 444 years allowing for inflation to be not less than £8 billion.

“We don’t want to be unreasonable and suggest that our present mayor should settle for £7 billion.”

The letter now hangs proudly on the wall of the breakfast club.

9 Comments

Comments are closed.