The Prince of Wales is reportedly set to sell 20 per cent of the Duchy of Cornwall over the next decade, aiming to raise £500m.
This substantial investment is earmarked for tackling the housing and nature crises, according to a report by The Times.
As heir to the throne, William inherited the Duchy – a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at more than £1bn – when his father became King.
The estate provides the 25th Duke of Cornwall with a private income of nearly £23m annually.
This money funds the charitable, private and official lives of William, the Princess of Wales, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The prince will consolidate his holdings around five geographic “heartlands”, focusing on the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Bath area and Kennington, south London, The Times reported.
Will Bax, chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, told The Times that William decided the Duchy “shouldn’t just exist to own land. It should first and foremost exist to have a positive impact on the world”.
Mr Bax said of the plan to sell off about a fifth of the estate: “If we don’t see an opportunity for positive impact, then perhaps we don’t need to be a part of that place.
“But where there is social need and where there is environmental challenge and where there is an opportunity to enable change, then we’ll be a great partner in working with people to achieve that.”
Mr Bax said the prince planned to invest £500m, made up from land sales, development income, partnerships and borrowing, into his priorities.
In March this year, tenants of the Duchy of Cornwall said they had been left “enormously stressed” following plans to sell off land on an estate in Devon.
The Bradninch estate, near Cullompton, has been part of the Duchy for centuries.
Mr Bax told The Times all 10 tenants were “engaged in a conversation around buying their farm”, and he believes the majority of them would.
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