Prince William gives up £1.5million income for good cause | Royal | News
The Prince of Wales made an important decision (Image: Getty)
It has been announced that the Prince of Wales will no longer receive an annual rent of £1.5 million. Prince William has asked for the millions of pounds of income he receives from the Duchy of Cornwall as heir to the throne to be removed and instead spent on boosting the local community. The latest Duchy accounts showed the prince earned private income of £21.6 million in 2025-26; William also revealed his £7.76 million tax bill for the first time.
An investigation by the Dispatches and the Sunday Times in 2024 found that the duchy signed a £37 million deal to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice in 2022, before Charles became King and William Prince of Wales, paying £1.5 million a year for 25 years, and signed a deal with the Ministry of Defense to allow the Armed Forces to train on Dartmoor land. But the category C prison in Devon has been empty since July 2024 after prisoners’ accommodation recorded high levels of radon gas, a toxic gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks and can cause lung cancer.
Prince William is Duke of Cornwall (Image: Getty)
A community-led regeneration fund will be launched next year to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to Princetown, the isolated rural community next to the prison.
Ian Patrick, the prince’s private secretary, said: “Prince William knows that for many people in Princetown the prison has long been part of the fabric of society.
“The closure has created real uncertainty, not only for jobs and businesses, but also for the future of the town.
“The Duke felt strongly that while these questions remained unanswered, the benefit of this income should remain in the community and help local people shape the future.”
As heir to the throne, William is entitled to benefit from annual profits from the billion-pound Duchy’s estate, which covers 51,800 hectares across 19 counties.
William, who became the 25th Duke of Cornwall nearly four years ago, had never published his own tax code before, although the King had done so while he was Duke of Cornwall.
The prince decided to introduce greater transparency to coincide with Charles’s first unveiling of the tax code as monarch.
It voluntarily pays income tax at the highest rate on any net surplus, but after deducting official expenses.
Duchy income is used to fund some of the charitable, private and official lives of William, Princess of Wales, and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
William paid a tax bill of £7.76 million in income and capital gains tax for 2024-25 and £8.34 million in 2023-24; He has paid more than £20 million in tax to HMRC since becoming Prince of Wales.
Mr Patrick said: “The Prince recognizes the interest in these regulations and the importance of appropriate transparency.”
Kensington Palace said the number of staff working at the couple’s home increased from 68 to 74.
Diversity figures show 14.9% of staff are from ethnic minority backgrounds, up from 13.2% the previous year, and 73% of Kensington Palace staff are female and 27% are male.
