Legal
Terms of use
Last updated 28 September 2026
State of the Realm is published by State of the Realm Media Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company no. 17485542. These terms apply when you use State of the Realm. By joining or posting, you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use the site.
Free accounts
- Joining is free. You must be 13 or over and give accurate details. Paid membership is for people aged 18 or over.
- You are responsible for keeping your sign-in secure. We recommend turning on two-step verification.
- You can close your account at any time by emailing privacy@stateoftherealm.org.
Paid membership
- A paid membership costs £5 per month or £50 per year, in pounds sterling. These are the total prices; we are not VAT registered and no VAT is added.
- It renews automatically at the same interval until you cancel. You must be 18 or over to buy one.
- A membership includes the full text of every article, commenting on articles and the member community. Free accounts receive the newsletter and article previews.
- Immediate access: your membership is digital content that starts as soon as payment is taken. By subscribing you ask for that immediate access and accept that the statutory 14 day cancellation right no longer applies once access has begun.
- Cancelling: cancel any time from your Account page, then Manage billing, or by emailing us. Your membership then runs to the end of the period you have paid for and does not renew. We do not refund part-used periods except where the law requires it, or where we choose to.
- If a renewal payment fails, our payment provider retries it for a short period and you keep access meanwhile. If it cannot be collected, the membership ends.
- We will give at least 30 days' notice by email before a price change affects your next renewal, and you can cancel before it takes effect.
- Payment is handled by Stripe; we never see or store your full card details. Receipts are sent by email.
- Billing questions and complaints: billing@stateoftherealm.org. We aim to reply within five working days.
Our content
Articles and papers are © State of the Realm. You may share links and quote short passages with credit and a link back. You may not republish whole articles or members-only content without our written permission.
Our articles are analysis and opinion. They are not legal, financial or professional advice. We aim for accuracy and will correct errors when they are pointed out.
What you post
You keep ownership of your comments and posts. You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display them on the site. You confirm you have the right to post them and that they follow our community guidelines.
We may remove content or suspend accounts that break these terms or the guidelines, without notice.
Liability
The site is provided "as is". To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect losses or for content posted by other members. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under English law, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
Law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, but if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings there.