Along with this title, Prince William automatically inherits the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been an income stream for his father for more than half a century. This is due to his ownership of an estate of over 52,000 hectares (128,000 acres), which also makes him one of England’s largest landowners. The Duchy of Cornwall owns land in 20 counties in England and Wales – the majority of it not in Cornwall – stretching from Devon to Kent and Carmarthenshire to Nottinghamshire. Much of the estate comprises farmland, but it also includes residential and commercial properties, woodlands, rivers, coastline and around – a third of Dartmoor National Park, which was once used to mine minerals such as tin and copper. Some of the estate’s more unusual holdings include the Oval cricket ground in central London – which has been leased by Surrey County Cricket Club since 1874 – as well as Dartmoor Gaol and a nursery and garden center at Lostwithiel in Cornwall. The duchy’s net assets were valued at more than £1bn at the end of March, most of which came from property investments. The Duchy of Cornwall’s flag was flown at half-mast at its headquarters in Poundbury last year, following the death of Prince Philip. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images The duchy can trace its origins almost 700 years back to 1337, when Edward III established a private estate that could provide independence for his son and heir, Prince Edward. A charter of the time stipulated that any future Duke of Cornwall would be the eldest surviving son of the monarch. Not only was King Charles III heir to the throne from the age of three, but he was also the longest-serving Duke of Cornwall in history, having completed 50 years of holding the estate in 2019. He took over the management of the estate and gained the right to receive his full income at age 21. Under his leadership, the estate’s multimillion-pound annual income was used to fund Charles’ “public, private and charitable activities,” according to the duchy’s website. He credits Charles with asking the estate to be managed in a way that is “sustainable, economically viable and of substantial value to the local community”. His personal interests shaped the work of the duchy, through his interest in architecture and sustainability, including organic farming. Charles was also behind the creation of Poundbury, the model village near Dorchester in Dorset, which is home to more than 3,000 people. He also founded food company Duchy Organics more than three decades ago in 1990, and many consumers may associate the estate’s name with Duchy-branded groceries, including fruit, vegetables and meat. Then-Prince Charles cuts a celebratory cake with members of the Innovative Farmer network at a Duchy Organic pop-up cafe in Launceston in July. Photo: WPA/Getty Images However, the brand ran into financial difficulties following the 2007 financial crisis and was bailed out when it signed a licensing deal with retailer Waitrose in 2009. The brand now operates separately from the Duchy of Cornwall. Now the dukedom has passed to William, there will be questions about which path he will take and how he might shape the estate. It also inherits the housing development project at Nansledan, an extension to the town of Newquay in Cornwall, where more than 4,000 homes and a high street are being built in a project expected to take three decades. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our site and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. A road in Nansledan, the Duchy of Cornwall’s housing development project. Photo: Hugh Hastings/Getty Images Succession planning has clearly been taking place in recent years: the duchy’s most recent annual financial report states that William and some of his personal advisers “continued to attend many of the non-executive committees to learn more about the governance of the duchy and of the various initiatives overseen by the committees and to meet new members”. Owning the property has proved lucrative for Charles and paid him an income of £21m for the year ending 31 March 2022, according to the duchy’s annual accounts. There will be questions about whether William, the new Duke, will follow his father’s lead in taxing his ducal income. Charles voluntarily paid the top rate of income tax – 45% – on the duchy’s profits after deducting official spending, known as his ‘surplus’, which totaled £23m in the last financial year. The duchy is not considered a company, meaning that Charles was not liable to pay corporation tax or capital gains tax. This has drawn criticism in the past, including from MPs on parliament’s influential public accounts committee, which previously called for an inquiry into the estate’s tax affairs. In recent days, the owner of a Cornish tin mine, where the BBC TV series Poldark was filmed, has hit out at the Duchy’s decision to take legal action against him over unpaid rent for the mine’s underground passages. The duchy is the owner of the mine’s mineral rights. Prince William will now have to negotiate this and other issues as he decides on the strategic direction for the Duchy under his control.
