When King Charles III of England ascended to the throne in September of 2022, everyone underneath him on the British royal totem pole moved up a slot as well. That includes Prince William, who inherited, among other things, the title of Duke of Cornwall from Charles, and now an official financial report from the Duchy of Cornwall has revealed, along with other tidbits, the annual income that William collected in his first full fiscal year as the holder of the title: £23.6 million, or about $30.4 million in US dollars.
That isn’t a straight salary but is instead the amount of William’s income from the Duchy of Cornwall minus “official, charitable and private expenses of Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children,” per People magazine. That structure is what William receives in lieu of a more traditional salary and is designed to cover virtually any expense he and his immediate family might have over the course of the year, with plenty left over. And it’s this approximately $30 million figure that will be used to determine his income tax bill.
Jonathan Brady – Pool/Getty Images
The Duchy of Cornwall estate was established way back in 1337 during the reign of King Edward III specifically to provide income to heirs to the British crown. Today, it’s valued at over $1 billion and includes 130,000 acres of land spread across the UK.
Prince William has reportedly embraced his new title with enthusiasm since his inheritance. And in 2019, some three years before his ascension took place, he appeared in a documentary called “Prince Charles: Inside The Duchy of Cornwall” and spoke on how he would approach the handling of the estate:
“Well, rest assured I’m not going to rock the boat; I’ll do much the same as what my father’s doing. I’m not so into the architecture — that’s the only thing.”
The Duchy of Cornwall’s Integrated Annual Report also includes information on a change in his work with The Football Association, of which he is now an official patron (he had been president of TFA since 2006, while his mother had been the patron). He’s made a similar transition from president to patron of the Fields in Trust charitable organization and has taken up patronage of the Welsh Guards Charity and the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association as well.