Chapter 328 Making Money Under the British Flag
After Hardy talked with Princess Elizabeth, Hardy said goodbye. Taylor naturally had to follow Hardy, and her luggage was still in Princess Margaret's bedroom.
Hardy went over to get the gifts. Taylor had a lot of luggage, and royal servants helped her pack it. Margaret looked at Hardy who was drinking tea in the living room, and came over to sit next to him.
"I envy Tyler."
Princess Margaret said quietly.
Hardy looked at Margaret's ugly face. In fact, he knew why the princess envied Taylor, because Taylor was freer than her.
Hardy took a sip of his tea and said nothing.
Margaret glanced at Hardy and asked angrily, "Aren't you going to ask me why I envy her?"
"Why?" Hardy asked.
Margaret could hear the perfunctory tone in Hardy's voice and felt her teeth itching with hatred.
"Because I'm not happy and I'm not free. I stay in the palace all day, following so many etiquettes and doing what others ask me to do. In fact, I'm just a puppet. I can't see the meaning of life." Margaret said.
Hardy was a little surprised.
I didn't expect that this girl had seen through it all a long time ago. Maybe it was because she was involved in it. Many people see that the royal family is so glorious, but in fact, all the behaviors of the royal family members are firmly fixed by the rules and cannot be exceeded in any way.
Any little problem could make the headlines.
Such a life is actually meaningless, and Hardy doesn't like it anyway.
Hardy had no solution to Margaret's problem, and to be honest, he didn't want to get involved.
Although Margaret was very beautiful, Hardy didn't have any idea about her. This girl's identity was too troublesome.
He can find other women, even the most popular Hollywood actress, and play with them at will. No one will care whether they are good or bad. It is easy to deal with them with his status and strength. But if he really gets a royal princess, especially a British princess, it will be much more troublesome.
After all, the British are still recognized by the English-speaking world, and the British royal family is the most influential royal family in the world.
"Hardy, can you help me think of a solution?" Princess Margaret asked in a low voice with a pleading look in her eyes.
Hardy, look at this chick.
"In fact, it is not impossible to travel abroad. In the name of contributing to the country, we can visit other countries and improve the image of Britain."
"You can also be a charity ambassador and visit poor areas to comfort them. There are actually a lot of things you can do."
Margaret frowned. "I've been to some places with my sister to offer condolences, but it was not interesting at all."
"In addition to condolences and charity, you can also participate in overseas activities, such as Italian fashion week, American fashion shows, jewelry exhibitions in various places, etc. It's better than staying in the palace."
"That's true, but it costs a lot every time I go out, so my sister won't let me go out so often." Margaret said.
“You can make your own money.”
"How do you make money yourself?" Margaret was a little surprised.
"To be an endorsement, you don't have to promote it directly. You just need to wear clothes of a certain brand or carry jewelry of a certain brand. In fact, it is an endorsement for them. Hardy Group has a lot of luxury goods business. We can sign a contract privately. If you become the spokesperson for our luxury brand, won't you make money?" Hardy said.
If we can develop Princess Margaret into our luxury goods spokesperson, it will be much better than asking a celebrity to be the spokesperson.
Most of the luxury brands in Britain, France and Italy have gradually developed into internationally renowned brands because they were favored by the royal family and specifically designated as suppliers.
The British Princess brand is still very useful.
Finally, Hardy used his trump card and whispered in Margaret's ear: "In my casino in Las Vegas, there is a luxury shopping street. There will be luxury brands from all over the world, and there will also be a fashion show there."
"I invite you to join, you can make money, and if I'm here, I can also take you to the carnival. I guarantee you can have fun however you want on my turf," said Hardy.
Princess Margaret's eyes suddenly lit up.
“That’s a good idea.”
She didn't really care about making money. What Margaret wanted was to have fun like she did yesterday. She already knew Hardy's power. With him taking her out to play, her sister couldn't do anything to her.
"Okay, I'll be your brand spokesperson." Margaret agreed.
Hardy felt very accomplished when he got a princess to work for him.
"Don't worry. The shopping street in Las Vegas isn't ready yet. It will be ready next year. I'll invite you when it's ready. There are many fun places in the casino. It's ten thousand times better than the nightclub we went to yesterday." Hardy tempted again.
Margaret nodded quickly. "It's settled!"
Taylor packed his luggage, including the gifts he brought and the things he bought in London, a total of eight large suitcases.
When I said goodbye to Margaret, she was reluctant to leave.
In fact, she had developed some feelings for Taylor during these few days of playing with her. Now that Taylor was leaving, she would be alone in the palace again.
......
Princess Elizabeth spoke to Clement Attlee on the phone and told the Prime Minister about her conversation with Hardy. Attlee was now worried about money all day long. He wanted to implement a welfare society and restore the British economy, and everything required money.
Prime Minister Attlee was opposed to selling land in his heart, but he also knew that some of the colonial lands might be difficult to keep.
The Cayman Islands mentioned by the princess were originally under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Jamaica. Of course, if we talk about historical evolution, the relationship between Cayman and Jamaica is not that great. The main reason why Cayman was handed over to the Governor of Jamaica is that the two countries are close in distance.
Prime Minister Attlee did not attach much importance to those small islands, so deep down he did not object to this matter. The only thing that made him uncomfortable was the little pride that was left in the British Empire.
Not long after, Prime Minister Attlee drove to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth.
The two discussed in detail about Hadi's purchase of the island.
"Hardy promised that the Cayman Islands would always belong to Britain. This is actually beneficial to us. Jamaica is now clamoring for independence. If we can't control it well, the Cayman Islands may also secede. It's better to sell it to him."
"He demanded complete autonomy."
"Do the Cayman Islands have any resources? No, maybe the only use left is to station troops there, but the United States will never allow any country to build a military base in its hinterland."
The British would like to do so, but they dare not provoke the Americans now.
"I think Hadi is interested in tourism and gambling. When I came here, I asked someone to check that other American forces have set up casinos in Cuba to grab Hadi's profits. I guess that's why he thought of setting up casinos in the Cayman Islands."
"But he is an American after all. Opening up autonomy to Americans will have an impact on the reputation of the British Empire."
"Perhaps there are other solutions, such as allowing Hadi to become a British citizen."
"Will he agree?"
“Dual nationality.”
"Give him a title, appoint him as the governor of the Cayman Islands, and then declare Cayman a self-governing territory, and there will be no problem in name only."
"What about the price? How much can we offer?"
“That’s a problem.”
......
Prime Minister Attlee discussed with Princess Elizabeth for more than two hours. After saying goodbye and leaving, he returned to the Prime Minister's residence to convene a meeting of cabinet members to inform them of Hadi's acquisition of the island.
To be honest.
Some cabinet ministers do not even know the name of the Cayman Islands. After all, the British Empire had too many colonies, including more than 50 countries and more than 30 million square kilometers of land. Who would remember the name of a small island?
But now that someone has bought it, the value of this island is immediately apparent.
I can leave it to rot, but you'll have to pay a high price for it.
No cabinet member objected to the outcome of the discussion between the prime minister and Princess Elizabeth. If Hardy were to become a British citizen, be granted a title, be appointed governor, and be sold an island, all of these actions would be completely within the legal scope.
Of course, this depends on whether Hardy is willing to become a British citizen.
After all, he is a wealthy American.
There are also political implications to consider.
Finally, the topic was price. A group of cabinet leaders focused on discussing the price issue. Everything in the world has a price. It all depends on how much you pay.
......
Hardy received an invitation from the British Chancellor of the Exchequer to visit his estate, and Hardy knew that things might be looking up.
"Hello, Minister Lambeth, we meet again." Hardy smiled and shook hands with the Finance Minister.
"We welcome entrepreneurs like Mr. Hardy to visit the UK more often and invest in the UK. I understand that you have made a lot of investments in Hong Kong, which makes us very happy. If there are any problems in Hong Kong, you can contact us at any time and we will help Mr. Hardy solve them." Minister Lambeth said with a smile.
Both parties sat down.
After a few pleasantries, we got down to business.
"Mr. Hardy is interested in purchasing the Cayman Islands?" Minister Lambeth asked.
Hardy smiled.
"Yes, the scenery there is nice. If possible, I would like to turn it into a tourist area for Americans to visit," said Hardy.
The term "opening a casino" is still quite sensitive and difficult to disclose to the public, so making it a tourist destination is more suitable for external publicity.
"After discussion, we feel that we can agree to Mr. Hadi's request, but we also have a few conditions that Mr. Hadi must meet," said Minister Lambe.
"Please go ahead."
"After our discussion, the island can be sold to you, and the autonomy you requested can also be granted, but you must promise to never leave the Commonwealth."
After hearing this, Hardy nodded.
He's not stupid.
Independence means nothing to such a small island. It has autonomy, but in fact, except that it belongs to Britain in name, there is no difference between rights and independence.
It has its own government, its administration is not under British jurisdiction, it makes its own laws, and its taxes, trade, and foreign policies are all under its own control. It has its own army, and except for not being able to declare war on other countries at will, it is free in all other aspects.
However, using the name of Britain can bring many benefits. People don’t know who Cayman is, but they definitely know who Britain is. If someone wants to bully you, it is equivalent to declaring war on Britain.
Even if the UK is soft now, it will still be one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in the future and a world power. It will be easier to make money under the UK's banner.
"No problem, I agree with that."