Duchy tenants look to a bright future under Prince William
William and Kate talk with farmers in County Durham last year © Nigel Whitfield Duchy of Cornwall farming tenants say they are optimistic about the future after Prince William inherited the £1.2bn estate from his father, King Charles III.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, King Charles III confirmed that his eldest son, Prince William, had become heir apparent, the Prince of Wales and the 25th Duke of Cornwall.
With this, Prince William will take on the responsibilities for the Duchy of Cornwall estate, which spans 20 counties in England and Wales and has about 500 farm lettings, of which 260 are fully equipped holdings.
See also: Will the new King continue to speak out for family farms?
Prince William has been preparing over the past few years to inherit the private royal estate from his father. In 2014, he took a 10-week course in agricultural management at Cambridge University.
More recently, he and his wife, Catherine, have been visiting farms to talk to farmers first-hand and build their knowledge of agriculture (see panel) to learn more about the challenges the industry faces.
In numbers: The Duchy of Cornwall estate
- Created in 1337 by King Edward III to provide independence to his son and heir, Prince Edward.
- 52,450ha of land covered across 20 counties, mostly in the South West
- About 500 farm lettings, including 260 fully equipped farms
- £23m of income was paid to Prince Charles in 2021-22 to service needs of his family, including his public work
Net zero ambitions
Duchy tenant farmers Matt and Christiana Heard manage a herd of Jersey and Jersey-cross cows at Stokehouse Farm in Bradninch, Devon.
The couple have downsized their herd from 170 to 80 cows to lower their carbon footprint, as part of Duchy ambitions to reach net zero by the early 2030s.
They have set up a new venture to bypass the supermarket model and sell their milk direct to consumers through two milk vending machines at local community hubs in Tiverton and Cullompton. Their milk is also sold to Rivermead Dairy, based in Tiverton.
“King Charles has been an excellent landlord and he and the Duchy team have always been really keen to understand and help farmers,” said Mrs Heard.
“I’m also feeling positive about Prince William. He is going to be just as good a landlord as his father and may wish to put his own mark on things.”
Another Duchy tenant farmer, Kevin Hughes, who runs 300 Jersey cows at Hill Barn Farm, Lyde in Herefordshire, said he expected William to be different in the role compared with his father, but was optimistic.
“It has been said that Prince Philip [the late Duke of Edinburgh] was passionate about modern food production, King Charles was passionate about conservation, and Prince William is somewhere in between.
“That is not a bad thing, as we certainly need to produce food, but in an environmentally friendly way.”
Estate ‘in safe hands’
A Duchy of Cornwall spokesman said the loss of the Queen had had a “profound impact across the Duchy family including our many tenants”, and they were observing a period of mourning.
King Charles passed on the estate “much improved”, the spokesman added, and “it is in safe hands” under Prince William.
“HRH the Duke of Cornwall has been working with the Duchy of Cornwall team for some time to prepare for this sad eventuality and to ensure a smooth transition.”
Farmers impressed by farming knowledge of Prince and Princess of Wales
Farmers who have hosted the new Prince and Princess of Wales say both share a passion for farming and are keen to learn more about the agricultural industry.
County Durham farmers Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman welcomed the royal couple for a tour of their mixed cattle, sheep and arable farm in April 2021.
William and Kate saw first-hand how the fifth-generation, family-run 227ha lowland farm, near Darlington, was working towards achieving net zero by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the government’s target for the country as a whole.
Ms Wise said the prince was “incredibly knowledgeable” about practical farming and they spoke at length about how he and Kate had spent time at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, learning about sustainable farming from the farm managers.
“Prince William was very open about his views on farming; whilst being kind to the environment, he understood the need for agriculture to be productive,” added Ms Wise.
“Both he and Kate recognised the need for us to make a living alongside our environmental responsibilities.”
The local NFU branch organised the visit after the Royal couple had requested a tout of a medium-sized, working family farm so they could understand the pressures and the opportunities farmers faced in the economic climate during Covid.
The couple also visited goat farmers Gary and Jess Yeomans at Pant Farm, Llanvetherine, Monmouthshire, on St David’s Day this year.
That visit provided some important clues on the direction Prince William may steer the Duchy of Cornwall towards, as Duke of Cornwall.
“He said his grandfather was all about productive agriculture and his father the environment and organic farming, and he was trying to be somewhere in the middle,’’ Mr Yeomans recalled.