Photo: Windsor family
The British royal family, including King Charles III Windsor, make millions of pounds a year from a 'property empire' in the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, a joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches has revealed.
The media cites internal documents from the two duchies. According to their calculations, the British royal family owns 5,410 plots of land in the region. The plots are indirectly owned by Prince William and Charles III through their private holdings.
Payments for the use of the plots are collected from government departments, councils, businesses, mining companies and the population in the form of rents and feudal land dues, the investigation says.
The monarchy charges fees for the right to cross rivers, unload cargo on the banks, lay cables, run schools and charities, and even dig graves.
It raises revenue from toll roads, ferries, sewers, churches, village halls, pubs, distilleries, gas pipelines, boat moorings, open and underground mines, car parks, rental houses and wind turbines.
Tolls are levied on the army, navy, NHS, prison service and state schools for the use of land, rivers and seashores.
Charles III and Prince William act as commercial landowners, but have a special agreement with the Treasury that exempts them from paying corporation tax. In 2023, the net profit of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall was £26 million, according to the publication's calculations.
The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall extend beyond the counties they are named after, covering 72,000 hectares in England and Wales. They are largely made up of lands seized by English kings centuries ago, immediately following the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Charles III's fortune is £610 million.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga