PRINCE William received a private income of almost £6 million this year – but it would have been £24m if not for the "one-off" change at the top of the royal family.
The news comes just days after William launched a project to end homelessness, which has a budget of £3m.
The prince's income came from private proceeds from the Duchy of Cornwall, which William inherited after the death of his grandmother the late Queen and the accession of his father the King. He is now entitled to its surplus profits every year.
The Duchy generated record profits of £24.048m in 2022-23 – up £1.02m from £23.024m the year before, a jump of about 4.5%, the estate’s own accounts showed.
READ MORE: King Charles to face two protests when in Scotland for coronation event
Usually William would be entitled to the full £24m as his private income, but his finances have been complicated after he became heir to the throne half way through the financial year.
The King, as the former Prince of Wales, was entitled to £11.275m of the surplus before his accession, while William, who spent about six months of the last financial year as the Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, to £12.773m, Kensington Palace said.
The Palace further said that as a “one-off associated with the change in Dukes of Cornwall”, the Duchy team asked to retain a proportion of the surplus for “working capital purposes” – the day-to-day running of the estate – this year.
The Duchy kept £6.873m, leaving William with an income of £5.9m.
Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, called on William to report his income and expenditure in full, and for his Duchy income to be given to local communities across the country instead.
The annual figures were published on Thursday, in the same week William launched Homewards, his five-year drive to eradicate homelessness in six locations around the UK.
As the Prince of Wales, Charles released a separate annual Clarence House review each year, detailing his broad income and expenditure of the Duchy money.
But Kensington Palace said that the past year had been a transitional one following the death of the late Queen and as such they would not be releasing a report this year – William’s first as the heir apparent.
“Their royal highnesses have been working through with their Duchy and household team their plans and priorities for the Duchy and the household in the years to come, and how these support their work and charitable priorities, such as The Royal Foundation and its programmes,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
“And it’s why the household is not publishing a partial annual report.”
READ MORE: Crowds fail to turn up to Prince William's Scotland visit
But Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said: “William has some explaining to do because a change of monarch and heir is no excuse to row back on what little transparency there is.”
He added: “There is absolutely no reason why William’s household cannot provide a full set of accounts for this financial year.
“As the recipient of public funds from the state-owned Duchy he should be reporting his income and expenditure.
“As Duchy profits appear to be growing to a record £24m it’s time we demanded the return of the Duchies (of Cornwall and Lancaster) to the people and for revenue to be spent on local communities.”
William, in the Duchy’s own detailed financial accounts, paid tribute to his father for leaving an “indelible mark” on the Duchy and being passionate about driving forward change.
He described wanting to make a difference in his new role himself.
“I am committed to the cause of tackling climate change and I am proud of the estate’s efforts to contribute to this challenge,” William said.
“If we can also help respond to social challenges such as mental health and homelessness, I will feel my term as duke has been worthwhile,” he said.
William's Duchy is valued at more than £1 billion and is one of the largest and oldest landed estates in Britain.
It was created in 1337 by Edward III to support his son and heir Prince Edward, known as the Black Prince, and all his subsequent heirs.
It extends across 23 counties in England and Wales and includes the Oval cricket ground and 67,000 acres of Dartmoor.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel