Prince William shared tea and cakes with farmers during a solo engagement in North Yorkshire this morning. The Prince of Wales, 43, visited Swaledale to meet young farmers and learn about the opportunities and challenges within the industry, but William did not show up empty-handed. He picked up a selection of baked treats from Reeth's Dales Bike Centre, a popular stop for cyclists travelling through the Yorkshire Dales, before heading to Richmond.
Engagement at Crow Tree Farm
Ahead of his meeting with members from farming families, William passed around the desserts as he discussed new challenges and opportunities within the industry. The event was organised at the family-run Crow Tree Farm, days after William and Kate, 44, celebrated son Prince Louis and daughter Princess Charlotte's birthdays. The prince appeared dapper in a checked jacket worn over a jumper and shirt as temperatures dipped across the UK.
Royal Family Updates
The engagement marked William's first official outing since marking 15 years of marriage with the Princess of Wales on April 29. Set against the backdrop of the Cornish coast, a new portrait of Prince Louis showed him leaning with arms folded against a vessel's metal barrier. On May 2, the prince and princess released a charming snap of Charlotte taken during the same family holiday, where she smiled broadly surrounded by flowers and trees. The photograph underscored her remarkable likeness to her father, with similar facial features frequently drawing public comment, while her loose, flowing hair is more reminiscent of her mother Kate.
It is the second new photo of the princess in recent days, after the Waleses shared a touching family snap to mark their 15th wedding anniversary on April 29. Like the children's birthday portraits, the relaxed picture was taken by trusted photographer Matt Porteus. William and Catherine can be seen lounging in the grass while their three children are sprawled next to them, with the whole family basking in the sun. The photo also featured the Waleses' beloved dogs, and they recently revealed the name of their adorable new puppy, Otto, on his first birthday on May 1. Sharing a snap of the brown cocker spaniel taken by Kate, they wrote: 'Welcome to the family, Otto! 1 today.' The sweet pooch is the son of their older dog Orla, who joined the Wales family in 2020 as a gift from Kate's brother James Middleton.
Tax Transparency Issues
Today's visit to North Yorkshire comes after a new report revealed Prince William is paying an income tax bill of up to £7 million a year. The Prince of Wales has refused to disclose his tax contributions in the past, though he is understood to pay the top rate of 45 per cent. The majority of William's income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate worth about £1.1 billion, which generates more than £20 million a year. Questions around transparency on tax have intensified after revelations that the Cornwall estate, along with the Duchy of Lancaster, generated millions by charging public bodies such as the NHS, the armed forces, and schools for use of its land.
His father King Charles III previously disclosed that he voluntarily paid £5.9 million in income tax on Duchy earnings in his final year as heir, 2021-2022. Since then, however, neither he nor William has made their tax arrangements public. William is understood to follow a similar approach to his father, paying the highest rate of tax of 45 per cent. In 2023-24, the first financial year in which he oversaw the Duchy of Cornwall, William received £23.6 million. About £13.5 million of this is thought to be taxable, with William's total income tax bill in the region of £5 million to £7 million, according to the Sunday Times. The Duchy was set up in 1337 by Prince Edward III to provide a pot of money for his son Prince Edward.
