A NEW title wasn’t the only thing Prince William gained when Charles became King – his new role also came with a £1 billion property portfolio.
But why did King Charles hand over the property portfolio and is William now his father’s landlord? Here’s everything you need to know.
King Charles has handed over a property portfolio worth £1 billion to his son William, as he has now taken over the Duchy of Cornwall.
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.
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The revenue from his estate is used to fund the public, private and charitable activities of The Duke and his immediate family.
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, 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.”
King Charles may have to pay his son up to £700,000 a year to honour a long lease he signed on his favourite home – Highgrove in Gloucestershire,
The king purchased the home in 1980 and it has been since been transformed into a royal family home.
A source said: “The King has a long lease and pays rent on Highgrove House and surrounding land.”
