Prince William has marked his first full financial year as the British royal family’s heir apparent, a lucrative role that has earned him £23.6 million ($30.4 million), a new report shows.
Though the 42-year-old royal is officially known as the Prince of Wales, he is also the Duke of Cornwall, and generates annual income from the private Duchy of Cornwall estate. The Duchy portfolio consists of 52,264 hectares, mostly in the south-west of England, including farmland, residential and commercial properties, and coastline. In 2022, it had an estimated worth of more than £1 billion ($1.29 billion), the Guardian reported.
In an Integrated Annual Report for the April 2023 to March 2024 fiscal year, Duchy secretary Alastair Martin wrote that this year’s income amounted to £23.6 million ($30.4 million), falling slightly short of the 2022/2023 figure, which reached £24 million ($30.9 million).
The Duchy is an independent source of income, not funded by the U.K. public as per the Sovereign Grant, and its revenue is used to fund lifestyle and charitable endeavors of the incumbent Duke and his family. Prince William pays an undisclosed amount of voluntary income tax on the Duchy, although it is not a requirement. According to the Telegraph, he pays tax on the full amount, after household costs, which have not been disclosed.
Read More: What To Know About Prince William’s Net Worth
Prince William inherited the estate from his father, King Charles III, at the moment of the monarch’s ascension in September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. He became the 25th Duke of the estate, which was established by Edward III in 1337, to support his son and heir Prince Edward. Royal charter dictates that each eldest surviving son of a ruling monarch—who is first in line to the throne—will inherit the Duchy.
“Over the years, I have had the privilege of introducing the 25th Duke to the Duchy, with visits to the estate to meet tenants, and more recently as he and his advisers attended meetings of various Duchy Committees,” Martin wrote of Prince William. “This year has been the first full year with the ‘new team’ in post, and it has been a busy year.”
Martin laid out Prince William’s sustainability agenda for the estate moving forward.
“Our emerging strategic goals under his leadership are fourfold: to grow income while maintaining value, to become a net zero estate by 2032, to be an exemplar estate for mental health provision for tenants and staff, and, working with others, to address the homelessness challenge in Cornwall,” Martin wrote in the report.
In February, the Duchy announced that it would construct a “high quality temporary accommodation” on its Cornwall land in Nansledan, Newquay, as part of a five-year effort to tackle local homelessness. Per an update shared in May, construction on the 24-unit housing complex is due to commence in September, with the first homes expected to be completed in late 2025.
