Prince William to sell 20% of Duchy of Cornwall to fund housing, clean energy

Theresa Braine, New York Daily News on May 18, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Britain’s Prince William plans to sell off one-fifth of the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate created in 1337 to guarantee income for the heir to the throne, and use the estimated $670 million in proceeds to fund public housing and clean energy projects.

The 130,000-acre private estate spans more than 20 counties and nets the Prince of Wales over $30 million annually, the bulk of his annual income. Tackling homelessness within the duchy has been a stated goal of William’s since at least last year, according to its 2025 annual report and its website. The duchy aims to become full net zero by 2032, according to its website.

Created by King Edward III, the $1.3 billion estate passed to Prince William in 2022 after his father ascended the throne to become King Charles III following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Prince William, who is also the Duke of Cornwall, plans to consolidate the holdings around five geographic “heartlands,” by selling the lands over the next 10 years, The Times of London first reported. This will focus his efforts on the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Dartmoor, the Bath area and Kennington in south London, which look ripe for the biggest social and environmental impact.

William has decided that the duchy “shouldn’t just exist to own land,” the holdings’ chief executive Will Bax told The Times. “It should first and foremost exist to have a positive impact on the world.”

In March, plans to sell 10 farms in Devon sent shockwaves through the area as tenant farmers whose families had been there for generations said they could not afford to buy. Bax said the goal was “to do it in a way that is caring of our tenants and gives tenants as much control and time and support as possible to hopefully step into the position of ownership.”