Prince William is reportedly planning to sell off a fifth of the Duchy of Cornwall estate over the next decade, in a move worth £500 million. The Prince of Wales intends to use the proceeds to invest in tackling housing and nature crises, according to The Times.
The Duchy of Cornwall, valued at over £1 billion, provides William with a private income of nearly £23 million a year. The funds support the private, official and charitable lives of William, his wife Kate, and their three children. William inherited the estate when his father, King Charles III, ascended the throne.
Will Bax, chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, told The Times 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.” Bax added that the prince plans to invest £500 million from land sales, development income, partnerships and borrowing into his priorities, which include restoring rivers, ending homelessness, and supporting farmers’ mental health.
The prince will consolidate his holdings around five geographic “heartlands”: the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Bath area and Kennington in south London. Bax said that where there is social need or environmental challenge, the duchy will be a “great partner” in enabling change.
In March, tenants of the Duchy’s Bradninch estate in Devon expressed being “enormously stressed” after plans to sell land. Bax confirmed all ten tenants were engaged in conversations about buying their farms, with the majority expected to do so. During a visit to Dartmoor last year, William stated: “We’re not the traditional landowner – we want to be more than that,” emphasising a modernisation of the Duchy while preserving its community spirit.
