Prince William is reportedly planning to sell 20 per cent of his Duchy of Cornwall land and use the proceeds to help tackle the housing and nature crises. The Prince of Wales will sell off a fifth of the portfolio over the next 10 years in a move worth £500 million.
Inheritance and Income
As heir to the throne, William inherited the estate—a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at over £1 billion—when his father Charles became King. The duchy provides the prince, who also holds the title of Duke of Cornwall, with a private income of nearly £23 million a year. This income funds the private, official and charitable lives of William, his wife Kate, and their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Strategic Consolidation
According to The Times, William will consolidate his Duchy of Cornwall holdings around five geographic “heartlands”: the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Bath area, and Kennington in south London. Will Bax, chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, told the publication that William decided the duchy “shouldn’t just exist to own land. It should first and foremost exist to have a positive impact on the world.”
Mr Bax said of the plan to sell off about a fifth of the duchy estate: “If we don’t see an opportunity for positive impact, then perhaps we don’t need to be a part of that place. But where there is social need and where there is environmental challenge and where there is an opportunity to enable change, then we’ll be a great partner in working with people to achieve that.”
Investment Strategy
Mr Bax explained that the prince planned to invest £500 million, sourced from land sales, development income, partnerships and borrowing, into his priorities. These range from restoring rivers to ending homelessness, supporting the mental health of farmers, and arranging get-togethers to combat rural loneliness.
Tenant Concerns
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. Mr Bax told The Times all 10 tenants were “engaged in a conversation around buying their farm” and he believes the majority of them would do so.
Modernisation Vow
On a visit to Duchy farmland on Dartmoor last year, William, 43, vowed: “We’re not the traditional landowner—we want to be more than that.” He added: “The Duchy has been a positive force for good, but we can do so much more. I think the key thing is, it’s about not losing the important community and historical links of the Duchy. But it’s also about making sure we’re building on and enhancing, modernising the Duchy. We’re going to modernise it without losing its key spirit of community.”
Historical Context
The Duchy of Cornwall traces its origins to 1337, when King Edward III established the estate to provide funds for his son and heir. Today, the portfolio encompasses between 2,000 and 3,000 properties spread across 23 counties in England and Wales, covering roughly 130,000 to 140,000 acres.
