Prince William and the Duchy of Cornwall — Part 2 of 2 [57 Images — Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral]
~ Tuesday, September 13, 2022 Blog Post ~
Excerpt from “Meghan Markle, Harry, William and Kate’s joint appearance almost didn’t happen, but one text changed everything”
By Lucia Stein, Rebecca Armitage and Lucy Sweeney
Date: Monday, September 12, 2022
The Prince and Princess of Wales have also become custodians of a sprawling and lucrative estate known as the Duchy of Cornwall, a significant step up in their responsibilities in ‘the Firm’.
The prized estate, with a net worth reportedly above $1.6 billion, was established in 1337 by King Edward III for his son and heir Prince Edward, “to preserve the state and honour of the said duke according to the nobility of his kind”.
The Duchy has also been used to support several other members of the royal family, including Prince William and Harry before he stepped back from his royal duties.
Its portfolio extends well beyond the geographical boundaries of Cornwall to include 52,449 hectares of land across 20 counties as well as livestock farms, granite quarries, forests and the Oval cricket ground in Kennington.
But the bulk of its income stream reportedly comes from its commercial property holdings, investing in assets such as offices and retail parks, the Financial Times reports.
The Duchy might also allow the couple, already worth millions, to level up on their real estate too.
King Charles III and Camilla’s former residence of Highgrove — including the house, garden and Duchy Home Farm — are all owned by the private estate.
Though, for now, the family might be satisfied with their existing portfolio of Anmer Hall in Norfolk, their apartment at Kensington Palace and their “humble” cottage called Adelaide, near Windsor Castle.
William and Kate moved to Adelaide — considered, by royal standards, to be a modest home — in August.
Friends told the BBC it was the beginning of a new chapter to ensure as normal an upbringing as possible for their three children.
But that desire might become harder to act on now that the couple have a vast Duchy to look after.
King Charles III — who is credited with transforming the estate into a “sustainable, financially viable” venture that is of “meaningful value to the local community” — has described the task of overseeing the estate as quite time consuming.
“He’s quite lucky because I found myself there at 21. I had a bit of baptism of fire really,” Prince Charles said of Prince William taking over in 2019.
“He goes and visits different parts of the Duchy of Cornwall, and so he is learning, I hope, as time goes by.”
King Charles III was said to have been “very hands on” as the estate’s custodian, and Prince William has hinted previously he will be doing “much the same as what my father’s doing” when he assumes the role.
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Financially, it seems their position remains unchanged since the new income stream for William and Kate will have no direct impact on the Sussexes, who have been financially independent since stepping down from royal duties.
References:
- https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/10/22/british-royal-succession-queen-elizabeth
- https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/1569048903537889286?t=CWEoPP0YedtfdfYz62pZVQ&s=19
4. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1260962651382992&extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&ref=sharing
7. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=485827239732225&extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&ref=sharing
8. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=446231260798002&extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&ref=sharing
