With the ascension of Prince Charles to the throne, his eldest son has become the heir apparent, the Prince of Wales and the 25th Duke of Cornwall.
Along with this title, Prince William automatically inherits the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been a source of income for his father for more than half a century. This is thanks to the ownership of an estate of more than 52,000 hectares (128,000 acres), which also makes him one of the largest landowners in England.
The Duchy of Cornwall holds lands in 20 counties in England and Wales, most of them not in Cornwall, stretching from Devon to Kent and from Carmarthenshire to Nottinghamshire.
Much of the estate includes farmland, but it also includes houses and commercial properties, woodland, rivers, coastline and about a third of Dartmoor National Park, which was once used for mining minerals such as tin and copper
Some of the estate’s more unusual properties 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 plant nursery and center of gardening at Lostwithiel in Cornwall. The duchy’s net assets were valued at more than £1 billion at the end of March, most of which came from investment property assets.
The flag of the Duchy of Cornwall at half-mast at its headquarters in Poundbury last year, following the death of Prince Philip. Photograph: 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 dictated that each 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, he was also the longest-serving Duke of Cornwall in history, having completed 50 years leading the estate in 2019. He took over the management of the estate and became entitled to receive its full income at the age of 21.
Under his leadership, the estate’s multimillion-dollar annual income was used to fund Charles’ “public, private and charitable activities,” according to the duchy’s website.
He credits Charles with calling for the estate to be managed in a way that is “sustainable, economically viable and of significant value to the local community”.
His personal interests shaped the duchy’s work, 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 can associate the estate’s name with Duchy-branded groceries, including fruit, vegetables and meat.
The 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. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
However, the brand ran into financial difficulties following the 2007 financial crisis and was thrown a lifeline when it signed a licensing deal with retailer Waitrose in 2009. The brand now operates separately in the Duchy of cornwall
Now that the dukedom has passed to William, there will be questions about which path he will choose and how he might shape the estate.
It also inherits the Nansledan residential development project, an extension of the town of Newquay in Cornwall, where more than 4,000 homes and a high street are being built in a project expected to last three decades.
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Succession planning has clearly occurred 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 government of the duchy and the different initiatives that the commissions oversee, and meet new members”.
Owning the estate has proved lucrative for Charles, paying 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 on taxes paid on his duchy’s income.
Charles voluntarily paid the top rate of income tax – 45% – on the duchy’s earnings after deducting official spending, known as his “surplus”, which amounted to £23 million in ‘last year.
The duchy is not considered a company, meaning Charles was not responsible for paying corporation tax or capital gains tax.
This has previously drawn criticism, including from MPs on parliament’s influential public accounts committee, which previously called for an inquiry into the property’s tax affairs.
In recent days, the owner of a Cornish tin mine, where the BBC TV series Poldark was filmed, has rejected the Duchy’s decision to take legal action against him over unpaid rent on the underground passages of sheet. The duchy owns the mine’s mineral rights.
Prince William will now have to negotiate this and other matters as he decides the strategic direction of the duchy under his control.