Time was when the King of England wanted your silence, he usually ensured your head left your body.  Nowadays, that’s kinda frowned upon.  So when King Charles wanted to ensure a close confidante of his late mother Queen Elizabeth kept their discussions private, he gifted her with a new residence, a manor home in the country.

Unofficially known as the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly spent nearly 30 years as the style advisor and designer for Queen Elizabeth until her death.  The 65-year-old Kelly had an apartment at Windsor Castle and was often at the Queen’s side during public events.  According to the Daily Mail, Charles provided a “grace and favor” home in the north of England, where Kelly can reside so long as she agrees not to commercially profit from using the words “palace” and “king,” what essentially equates to a gag order for discussing what happened within the monarchy.  Kelly had already written two “insider” books about royal goings-on, but presumably had the permission of the Queen to do so.

There are a lot of very odd parallels to American politics to this deal.  First, the King didn’t diddle around with a six-figure check funneled through a shell company set up by a shady lawyer.  The quid pro quo is out in the open.  But also, Charles now controls the home Kelly lives in, much like a billionaire now controls the home where a certain Supreme Court justice’s mother lives in.  Charles provides the home so long as Kelly agrees to his terms.  What terms did Clarence agree to?