Why King Charles handed £1 billion Duchy of Cornwall property portfolio on to Prince William
AFTER the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family underwent a huge shake-up as the line of succession shifted.
Along with senior members taking on new titles, the royals £1 billion property portfolio also changed hands.
Why did King Charles have to hand £1 billion property portfolio onto Prince William?
King Charles handed over a property portfolio worth £1 billion to his son William when he took over the Duchy of Cornwall, along with the title Prince of Wales.
The inheritance has made the new Prince of Wales the biggest private landowner in Britain - owning land across 20 counties in England and Wales.
Much of the estate comprises farmland, but it also includes homes and commercial properties, forests, rivers, coastline and around a third of the Dartmoor national park, which was once used for mining minerals such as tin and copper.
William also inherited the residential development project at Nansledan - an extension to the town of Newquay in Cornwall, where more than 4,000 homes and a high street are being built in a project expected to last three decades.
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The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate established by Edward III in 1337, as a means of providing independence to his son and heir.
According to royal rules and regulations, the eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits possession of the duchy and title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at birth or when his parent succeeds to the throne.
However, they must not sell assets for personal benefit.
The revenue from his estate is used to fund the public, private and charitable activities of The Duke and his immediate family.
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The Duchy, which owns 128,000 acres of land and earned a £21million income last year, was passed from Charles to the Prince of Wales when he became king.
As William is now next in line to the throne, the prince now has the new responsibility of running the estate - including King Charles’s beloved Highgrove home.
The property portfolio passed down also includes HMP Dartmoor as well as the Oval cricket ground in south London.
The prince has always been funded by the Duchy but before now he only had access to a much smaller amount of the money.
However with a property portfolio of this size, William and his family will see their annual income increase drastically.
A note taken from the Duchy's most recent annual accounts reads: "HRH The Duke of Cambridge, along with some of his personal advisers, has continued to attend many of the non-executive Committees to learn more about the governance of the Duchy and the various initiatives that the Committees oversee, and to meet new members."
Why might King Charles have to pay William rent?
King Charles will now pay his son up to £700,000 a year to honour a long lease he signed on his favourite home - Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
Boasting nine bedrooms and six bathrooms, four reception rooms and a nursery wing, as well as 347 acres of land, this royal residence is said to be the one the King is most fond of.
This was demonstrated when the new monarch retired to his beloved residence in Gloucestershire for a day following his mother’s death.
The king purchased the property in 1980 and it has since been transformed into a royal family home.
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It is just a short drive away from Queen Consort Camilla’s private house in Wiltshire.
A source said: “The King has a long lease and pays rent on Highgrove House and surrounding land.”
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