As King Charles III was proclaimed the new king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Saturday (September 10), his elder son Prince William has become the heir apparent or the next-in-line to the title of king, with some interesting additions to his inheritance.
Charles’s assets that are reportedly worth a billion pounds will also now be in William’s name – including London’s iconic cricket ground, The Oval. The last addition is because William now takes ownership of the Duchy of Cornwallis. Duchy refers to the property owned by a Duke, who is a noble or royal figure below the rank of king and prince.
Who owns the Oval?
The Duchy website describes the Oval as its “historical asset”. The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate established by King Edward III in 1337 to provide independence and income to his son and heir, Prince Edward, says its website. Since then, it has been given to the heir of the King or Queen.
The Oval stands to sing ‘God Save the King’. pic.twitter.com/sI87bQyaH0
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 10, 2022
Surrey County Cricket Club became the sole leaseholder of the Oval ground in 1874 and the Duchy has been involved with refurbishment works such as the rebuilding of the Pavilion from 1895 to 1897, and the new Pavilion portico completed in 2013.
What are the other properties that will now go to Prince William?
The Duke of Cornwallis title refers to not just the southwestern UK county of Cornwallis, but encompasses areas from 20 counties including Kent to Nottinghamshire, reported The Guardian. It also estimated the total size of the landholdings as being around 52,000 hectares or 128,000 acres. But as per the Duchy website, The Duchy owns only about 7,552 hectares of land in Cornwall, which is 13 percent of the overall Duchy estate.
A title of the duchess of Cornwall also exists, for the wife of the heir, and was held by Camilla Parker Bowles until now. Of the 90 charities and organisations headed by her, many operate in the Duchy of Cornwall.
Other properties of the Duchy include the Isles of Scilly, a group of over 200 islands, and Newquay, one of the UK’s most popular seaside resorts. “During the summer months, the resident population of 22,000 grows to 100,000. The Duchy is involved in two projects at Newquay, both of which are designed to champion sustainable development environmentally, socially and economically”, says the website.
How much money is earned from these properties?
The revenues from the estate are passed to the Duke, who “chooses to use them to fund his public, charitable and private activities and those of his family”. Essentially, it is a source of income for him. As per his website, an annual income of around 21 million pounds, or nearly 200 crores, is provided through it. The Prince uses it to “support himself, his children and their families as well as his philanthropic work”. The Prince has also paid income tax on all revenue from the estate.
Interestingly, the Duchy’s annual accounts are laid before the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the lower and upper houses of the Parliament. The involvement of the duchy with the government does not end here because as per convention, the Prince as Duke of Cornwall is asked by Parliament to provide consent to those bills that Parliament has decided would affect the Duchy of Cornwall’s interests.
This was also done in the case of the Queen, who would provide consent to bills that affected Crown interests. “In modern times, neither The Sovereign nor The Duke of Cornwall has ever refused to consent to any bill affecting Crown or Duchy of Cornwall interests”, the Duchy website says.
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