An investigation by Dispatches<\/em>, alongside\u00a0The Sunday Times<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Sunday Mirror<\/em>, claims that charities, the NHS and the British armed forces are charged millions for use of properties and land on the Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] Words by Emily Andrews<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/11\/imago773186777-1-scaled-e1731065760194.jpg” alt=”Jennifer Aniston” title_text=”Britain s Prince William, Prince of Wales arrives at the College Stoke Climsland in Callington, in Cornwall, southwester” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] It was meant to be Prince William\u2019s \u2018Super Bowl moment\u2019 as a \u2018global statesman\u2019. At least, that\u2019s what Palace aides \u2013 perhaps hyperbolically \u2013 had been calling it. Fresh from the launch of his TV documentary series, We Can End Homelessness<\/em>, charting his Homewards initiative, the Prince of Wales travelled to South Africa for the Earthshot Prize he founded. The trip was meant to signal the prince stepping up, both in terms of representing the UK Government (meeting the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa) and in his charitable campaigning.<\/p>\n But that has not been the story playing out at home in the UK, where a Channel 4 documentary, The King, The Prince And Their Secret Millions<\/em>, has sparked controversy over how William and King Charles procure their personal fortunes. The investigation by\u00a0<\/span>Dispatches<\/i>, alongside\u00a0<\/span>The Sunday Times<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>Sunday Mirror<\/i>, claims that charities, the NHS and the British armed forces are charged millions for use of properties and land on the Duchy of Cornwall (belonging to the Prince of Wales) and Duchy of Lancaster (belonging to the King). Ever since the duchies were established in the 14th century, revenue from these private estates has contributed to the private incomes of the monarch and their heir.<\/p>\n In the documentary viewers are told, \u2018Charles and William\u2019s private estates claim they are not funded by the taxpayer. But [Dartmoor Prison] is just one example of many where they are making an income from the taxpayer.\u2019 William\u2019s Duchy was found to have signed a \u00a337.5 million deal to lease Dartmoor Prison for 25 years to the Ministry of Justice, which is still liable for repairs. Separately, it charged the Ministry of Defence more than \u00a31 million to build and use jetties that moor its warships at Devonport in nearby Plymouth, and charged the Army to train troops on Dartmoor.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] However, it is the allegations about horrendous living conditions for some Duchy of Cornwall tenants in residential homes \u2013 reportedly with no central heating, mouldy walls and lack of proper insulation – that will really hurt William.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for The Duchy of Cornwall said in a statement, \u2018[This] is a private estate with a commercial imperative, which we achieve alongside our commitment to restoring the natural environment and generating positive social impact for our communities,\u2019 adding that Prince William had made \u2018significant investment to make the estate net zero by the end of 2032, as well as establishing targeted mental health support for our tenants\u2019. A spokesperson for the Duchy of Lancaster, meanwhile, said it \u2018complies with all relevant UK legislation and regulatory standards applicable to its range of business activities\u2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a PR disaster every which way. At best, it makes William look like an ignorant landlord and, at worst, a hypocrite (\u2018How can he say he helps the homeless when he doesn\u2019t even look after his tenants?\u2019 one tenant said to me.) and gives ammunition to those who call for an end to the monarchy. \u2018Whatever your views on the royal family, we can surely all agree that they shouldn\u2019t be profiting from our NHS,\u2019 NHS Million, an unofficial NHS campaign run by NHS staff, posted on X.\u00a0It also makes the efforts of William and Kate to seem \u2018just like us\u2019 risible.<\/p>\n In the last financial year, William was given \u00a323.6 million from his duchy, and Charles received \u00a327.4 million from his. These funds are considered to be private income and are in addition to the millions the royals get annually from taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant. The duchies are also exempt from capital gains and corporation tax. True, Charles and William do both pay income tax voluntarily on their earnings \u2013 but unlike his father, William has chosen not to reveal his income tax bill. At a time when many households are struggling with the cost of living, the findings are bound to provoke.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to say that it\u2019s been quite the annus horribilis for William and Kate and this latest storm is the last thing they need. ‘It’s been dreadful,’ William told reporters at the end of his visit to South Africa. ‘It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.’\u00a0<\/p>\n The year started with Kate\u2019s surgery, then her cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy; a dark time compounded by Charles\u2019s ill health. Criticism about Kate\u2019s photoshopped Mother\u2019s Day photo sent their PR strategy into crisis mode as conspiracy theories about Kate swirled on social media.<\/p>\n \u2018In the early days, it was all William and Catherine could do just to put one step in front of the other, to keep everything as normal as possible for the children,\u2019 a friend says.\u00a0\u2018He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and there have been some really difficult times. For William it has been getting back to the day job, his duty and charity work that has sustained him.\u2019<\/p>\n It has been a torrid year but, despite this new blow, they are determined to stay focused on what matters. For the princess, her health and her family come first. She will host her annual Christmas carol concert next month and slowly resume public duties, although not nearly so many as before.<\/p>\n The Prince of Wales will continue to support his father and will hold an ever more important role as his time for the throne nears. His vision for the future monarchy is becoming clear: a limited number of high-impact engagements and events rather than the paternalistic, seen-to-be-believed, helicopter-riding royal attitude of old. And surely sending a courtier to sort out the inadequate Duchy of Cornwall homes.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] Photo: <\/b>IMAGO<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prince William has described the past year as the ‘hardest’ of his life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4691"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4714,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4691\/revisions\/4714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}‘At best, it makes William\u00a0look like an ignorant landlord and, at worst, a hypocrite<\/span>‘<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]