Prince William will receive £700,000 a year in RENT from King Charles' Highgrove estate after taking over the Duchy of Cornwall and becoming his landlord, source says

  • William controls the Duchy of Cornwall and its £345million property portfolio
  • This includes King's beloved 18th century Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire
  • As such, William will receive up to £700,000 a year from Charles for the monarch’s Highgrove home, a source told The Sun

Prince William has become his father’s new landlord and will receive up to £700,000 a year from King Charles for the monarch’s Highgrove home, a source has revealed.

The new Prince of Wales, 40, now controls the Duchy of Cornwall and its £345million property portfolio - including Charles’ beloved 18th century Gloucestershire estate.

The Duchy, which owns 128,000 acres of land and reportedly had a £21million income last year, is passed to the eldest son of a reigning British monarch.

As such, the King now has to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to his eldest son to honour the long lease he signed on Highgrove House, which was purchased by the Duchy in 1980.

An insider told The Sun: 'The King has a long lease and pays rent on Highgrove House and surrounding land.'

Prince William has become his father¿s new landlord and will receive up to £700,000 a year from King Charles (pictured together on September 18, 2022) for the monarch¿s Highgrove home, a source has revealed

Prince William has become his father’s new landlord and will receive up to £700,000 a year from King Charles (pictured together on September 18, 2022) for the monarch’s Highgrove home, a source has revealed

The new Prince of Wales, 40, now controls the Duchy of Cornwall and its £345million property portfolio - including Charles¿ beloved 18th century Gloucestershire estate (pictured)

The new Prince of Wales, 40, now controls the Duchy of Cornwall and its £345million property portfolio - including Charles’ beloved 18th century Gloucestershire estate (pictured)

Inheriting the Duchy has made the new Prince of Wales the biggest private landowner in Britain, with a £1.2 billion holding across 23 counties, including farms, housing developments, seven castles, woodland, coastlines and commercial property. 

The Duchy owns most of the 200-plus Scilly Islands and rocks off the Cornish coast, including almost a third of the homes on the five inhabited isles of St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, St Agnes and Bryher. 

Tourism accounts for more than 85 per cent of the local economy with visitors attracted by the seals, dolphins, puffins and rare flowers. The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust pays the Duchy a rent of a single daffodil a year.

Elsewhere, among the Duchy's 70,000 acres in Devon is the freehold of Dartmoor prison, whose inmates down the years have included London gangsters Frank 'The Mad Axeman' Mitchell and Jack 'the Hat' McVitie.

The impressive property portfolio also includes the Oval cricket ground in south London.

Meanwhile, the royal residence to which Charles is said to be most attached is Highgrove, where he retreated for a day after his mother Queen Elizabeth II died last month.

During the early years of his marriage to Princess Diana it was their weekend home, but the Princess never returned after their separation in 1992. 

Charles developed his love of gardening at Highgrove (pictured with Princes William and Harry and Princess Diana in the Flower Meadow)

Charles developed his love of gardening at Highgrove (pictured with Princes William and Harry and Princess Diana in the Flower Meadow)

Queen Consort Camilla stands outside Highgrove, which is Charles's family home near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, in 2020

Queen Consort Camilla stands outside Highgrove, which is Charles's family home near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, in 2020

It is where Charles developed his love of gardening, with a stunning transformation of the neglected grounds.

The estate is also close to Queen Consort Camilla's personal home Ray Mill House in Reybridge near Lacock, Wiltshire - and is now a place the King and his wife deeply cherish. 

The estate, of course, boasts a residence of suitable stature for any reigning monarch. 

A nine-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion, and once home of Maurice Macmillan, son of the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, it has beautiful interiors by the late decorator Robert Kime. 

But the property is also as modern and environmentally-friendly as possible, being fitted with solar panels and a natural sewage filtering system, no doubt on the King's demands. 

Yet it is the gardens that are perhaps the most important aspect to the estate - for they have long been a key labour of love for Charles; when he bought the 18th Century home in 1980, they were unkempt and overgrown, according to the Mirror.  

The then-prince enjoying his wild garden and spring time daffodils on his estate in April 2022. The gardens now boast many rare trees and flowers

The then-prince enjoying his wild garden and spring time daffodils on his estate in April 2022. The gardens now boast many rare trees and flowers 

Prince Charles tending his herb garden at Highgrove in 1986. The King has long spoken of his love of nature and the need to care for the environment

Prince Charles tending his herb garden at Highgrove in 1986. The King has long spoken of his love of nature and the need to care for the environment

But over the past four decades, with the help of highly regarded gardeners like Rosemary Verey and Miriam Rothschild, he has transformed them. 

Not only are there large numbers of rare trees, flowers and heirloom seeds, there is also a wild garden, a formal garden and a walled kitchen garden.

Another haven is the Woodland Garden featuring two classical temples made from green oak and a stumpery - a garden feature similar to a rockery but made from parts of dead trees, especially stumps. 

So impressive are these gardens they now attract 30,000 visitors a year, with tours taking just under two hours. 

In the 2014 book, Highgrove: A Garden Celebrated, Charles wrote his efforts represented '...one very small attempt to heal the appalling short-sighted damage done to the soil, the landscape and our own souls'.

He added: 'Some may not like it, others may scoff that it is not in the real world or it is merely an expensive indulgence. Whatever the case, my enduring hope is that those who visit the garden may find something to inspire, excite, fascinate or soothe them'.

Paying further homage to them, the King recently created a perfume with the help of British perfume house Penhaligon's inspired by the floral scents of summer. 

Called Penhaligons Highgrove Bouquet Eau de Parfum, it is described as a 'crisp, confident burst of warm energy' opening with 'vibrant lavender and geranium' with the odour of 'blossoming weeping silver lime'.

So important are these gardens and outdoor space, the King has added to the estate over the years and now owns around 1,900 acres of strictly organically-farmed land. 

Handily, Camilla shares a love of gardening with her husband. She recently told Homes and Gardens magazine how much she enjoyed planting, weeding and just being creative. 

She said, 'It’s just one of the most relaxing things anyone can do. Go into the garden, get on with it.'

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