Is Dispatches streaming in the US? How to watch shocking Royal Family documentary

A Dispatches documentary on the Royal Family dropped over the weekend, and its title should tell you what to expect: The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions. If you’re in the US, there is a way to watch it on streaming. 

Dispatches is a long-running investigative documentary series that focuses on topics surrounding UK current affairs, which Channel 4 produces either independently or in collaboration with other media partners. 

Last year, it teamed up with The Times and Sunday Times to release Dispatches’ Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, a deep dive into numerous sexual assault allegations against the famed comedian. 

Now, focus has turned to a long-protected British institute: the royal family. This eye-opening new documentary examines secrets of their wealth, and how King Charles and Prince William benefit from a controversial system. 

How to watch The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions in the US 

Channel 4 aired the Dispatches special in the UK on November 2, 2024. If you’re in the US or any other territory, there’s a simple way to watch it: using a VPN. 

Content from Channel 4 is available on streaming for free on-demand after it premieres, and the same can be said for its documentaries. 

To watch The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions, simply sign up for a VPN, set it to a UK territory, sign up for or sign into a free Channel 4 account, and hit the play button. 

Shocking allegations surface

Among the most controversial findings of the Dispatches investigation presented in the new documentary are that King Charles and Prince William are charging the NHS, British Armed Forces, and charities millions of pounds to use land inherited centuries ago.

The money taken from these estates, which they do not have to pay corporation tax on, is in addition to the private income the royals receive from British taxpayers’ money. 

Channel 4

The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions puts two duchies (territories ruled by a duke or duchess) into focus: the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall. These estates were established back in 1399 and 1337, respectively, to ultimately make more money for the sovereign and heir. 

According to the findings of the investigation, Charles and William made a respective £27.4 million and £23.6 million from their duchies last year alone. This is made all the more controversial due to the fact that the UK is going through a cost-of-living crisis, with public services such as the NHS facing the biggest hit. 

The Dispatches documentary reveals that the King’s Duchy of Lancaster has a deal that’s seen the NHS pay more than £11 million over the course of 15 years to store ambulances at one of its warehouses. 

Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall, meanwhile, has a £37 million deal to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, and a similarly lucrative contract to allow the Armed Forces to train on Dartmoor land. 

The Duchy also makes thousands in rent from various charities, including the cancer non-profits Marie Curie and Macmillan, of which the king is a patron.

Additionally, as many as one in seven of the prince’s inherited Duchy of Cornwall rental properties have the lowest energy rating in the UK and are riddled with black mold and damp. 

Channel 4

This news emerges amid a ten-year £369 million renovation of Buckingham Palace, funded by taxpayers’ money, and as Prince William launches his homelessness campaign pledging that “everyone has a right to a safe and stable home”.

The documentary has been met with a strong reaction. NHS Million, a group launched by NHS staff to support the national health service, wrote on X/Twitter, “Whatever your views on the Royal Family, we can surely all agree that they shouldn’t be profiting from our NHS.”

Meanwhile, former BBC correspondent and royal family reporter Peter Hunt said: “William can single-handedly make a significant impact on homelessness by accepting a fixed income in return for giving up his vast Duchy of Cornwall estate.”

Hunt went on to write, “We now know, thanks to @C4Dispatches and ⁦@thetimes⁩, that: Taxpayers’ money from gov depts and the NHS goes to the Duchy of Lancaster. It funded the late Queen and now the King. This private wealth helped settle Andrew’s legal case.”

Has the Royal Family responded?

No, King Charles, Prince William, and the Royal Family’s PR team haven’t shared a response to the Dispatches investigation at the time of writing. 

Typically, the Royal Family addresses public statements or allegations through official channels such as Buckingham Palace’s press office or by releasing formal statements to trusted news outlets. We’ll be sure to keep you posted if this changes. 

For more documentary news, read about Netflix’s Martha Stewart deep dive, how to watch My Wife My Abuser in the US, and how to watch the Whittaker Family doc. You can also take a look at the new TV shows streaming this month.