The Prince of Wales received a private income of £XX million from his Duchy of Cornwall estate in 2025-26, a rise from £22.9 million the previous year, as he revealed his tax bill for the first time. As heir to the throne, William, the 25th Duke of Cornwall, is entitled to the annual profits from the landed estate.
Tax Transparency Move
Accounts released on Thursday showed the duchy generated profits of £XX.X million in 2025-26, up from £22.9 million in 2024-25. In what is being billed by the Royal Households as a move to improve transparency around royal finances, the prince revealed he paid £XXX,XXX in tax in 2024-25 (with the 2025-26 figure yet to be audited). This is the first time William has shared his tax payment, having not done so in the three years since he inherited the Duchy, despite his father the King doing so when he was heir to the throne.
The prince pays income tax voluntarily on his Duchy income, after official expenditure has been deducted. Kensington Palace said the prince paid the highest rate of income tax, 45%, on income over £125,140.
Use of Duchy Income
The Duchy income is used to fund the charitable, private, and part of the official lives of William, the Princess of Wales, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. It was revealed last month that William is set to sell 20% of the Duchy of Cornwall in the next 10 years, with a plan to invest £500 million in tackling housing and nature crises. The prince will consolidate his holdings around five geographic “heartlands,” focusing on the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Bath area, and Kennington, south London, The Times reported.
Duchy's Future Plans
Will Bax, the duchy’s new secretary and keeper of records, said: “The duchy is committed to transparency and sustainability, ensuring the estate supports the heir to the throne while addressing modern challenges.” In March this year, tenants of the Duchy of Cornwall said they had been left “enormously stressed” following plans to sell off land on an estate in Devon. The Bradninch estate, near Cullompton, has been part of the duchy for centuries.
Last year, the Duchy said it was overseeing an “era of deep change” in the wake of criticism over multi million-pound deals the landed estate struck with public bodies. It launched a policy review of the rents it receives from charities and grassroots community groups. A Dispatches and Sunday Times report in 2024 showed the duchy signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the Armed Forces to train on Dartmoor land.
Household Staff and Diversity
Kensington Palace said the number of staff employed by the couple’s household has risen to XX from 68 including secondees. Diversity figures show XX% of staff were from an ethnic minority background, up from 13.2% the year before, and that XX% of Kensington Palace staff are female and XX% male.
The billion-pound hereditary duchy estate, featuring The Oval cricket ground and Dartmoor Prison, provides the heir to the throne with funds independent of the monarch.
