King Charles ‘reduced to tears’ by Prince William’s surprise comment about future

Prince William has taken full responsibility for the Duchy of Cornwall – with his comments about the estate reportedly making King Charles emotional.

The monarch and his eldest son have seen their roles dramatically change within the Firm following the death of the late Queen in September 2022 with Charles now King and William taking on the position as the Prince of Wales. When William became heir to the throne, it came with the title of Duke of Cornwall and he was responsible for overseeing the vast Duchy of Cornwall estate. In an old ITV documentary, titled ‘Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall’, Charles revealed how a comment by his eldest son reduced him to tears.

In a clip, William, talking to a second-generational farmer, Mervyn Keeling, said: “I’ve started to think about how I will inherit the Duchy one day and what I do with it. I think it’s really important, the family angle, I really do.” King Charles, reflecting on the clip, said he was “deeply touched and moved” by William’s comment which was “reducing him to tears”. The Duchy of Cornwall estate was run by Charles for more than 50 years when he was Prince of Wales and he took great interest in its success.

It is a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at more than £1 billion, which provide an income for the heir to the throne. In February, Prince William, in a bid to tackle homelessness in Britain, announced a social housing project in Cornwall, to build 24 new homes built in Nansledan, a suburb of Newquay by next year. The development will include four-bedroom houses and one-bedroom flats, with the heir to the throne personally overseeing the project. The heir to the throne offered the profit to cover all construction costs for the project and will supply the land free of charge.

In his first interview as the Prince of Wales, the heir revealed that he was launching a “really big project” in a bid to end homelessness in Britain. The Duchy of Cornwall is essentially a land and property empire which provides the male heir to the throne with an income. It was established by King Edward III in 1337. During his tenure as the Duke of Cornwall, Charles had taken a particular interest in architecture and agriculture.

The Duchy land consists of almost 53,000 hectares across 20 counties in England, mostly in the South West. Despite its name, it is not all in Cornwall and it does not cover all of Cornwall.