Prince William received a private income of nearly £6million this year

Prince William received a private income from the Duchy of Cornwall of nearly £6million this year – but could get more than £20million next year.

The Prince of Wales inherited the Duchy landed estate after his grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II died and his father King Charles III acceded to the throne.

William is now entitled to its surplus profits every year. The Duchy generated record profits of £24.048 million in 2022-23 – up £1.02 million from £23.024 million the year before, a jump of about 4.5 per cent, the estate’s own accounts showed.

Usually William would get the £24million as his private income, but his finances were complicated by him becoming heir to the throne halfway through the financial year.

The King, as the former Prince of Wales, was entitled to £11.275million of the surplus before his accession. And William, who spent about six months of the last financial year as the Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales, was entitled to £12.773million.

The Prince of Wales meets young cattle handlers during the Royal Norfolk Show today

But Kensington Palace explained that as a ‘one-off associated with the change in Dukes of Cornwall’, the Duchy team asked to retain a proportion of the surplus for ‘working capital purposes’ – the day-to-day running of the estate – this year.

The Duchy kept £6.873million, leaving William with an income of £5.9million.

However, William was criticised for not publishing an annual report in his first year as heir to the throne.

Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, called on the Prince to report his income and expenditure in full, and for his Duchy income to be given to local communities across the country instead.

The figures were published today, in the same week William launched Homewards, his five-year drive to eradicate homelessness in six locations around the UK.

As the Prince of Wales, Charles released a separate annual Clarence House review each year, detailing his broad income and expenditure of the Duchy money.

But Kensington Palace said that the past year had been a transitional one after the death of the late Queen and as such they would not be releasing a report this year – William’s first as the heir apparent.

‘Their royal highnesses have been working through with their Duchy and household team their plans and priorities for the Duchy and the household in the years to come, and how these support their work and charitable priorities, such as The Royal Foundation and its programmes,’ a Kensington Palace spokesman said.

‘And it’s why the household is not publishing a partial annual report.’

However, Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said: ‘William has some explaining to do because a change of monarch and heir is no excuse to row back on what little transparency there is.’

King Charles III meets employees and clients of the spa during a visit to the Duchy of Cornwall’s Poundbury development in Dorset on Tuesday

Prince William visits Newquay Orchard, a seven-acre urban greenspace located on Duchy of Cornwall land which provides environmental education,  in November last year

He added: ‘There is absolutely no reason why William’s household cannot provide a full set of accounts for this financial year. 

‘As the recipient of public funds from the state-owned Duchy he should be reporting his income and expenditure.

‘As Duchy profits appear to be growing to a record £24million it’s time we demanded the return of the Duchies (of Cornwall and Lancaster) to the people and for revenue to be spent on local communities.’

William, in the Duchy’s own detailed financial accounts, paid tribute to his father for leaving an ‘indelible mark’ on the Duchy and being passionate about driving forward change. He described wanting to make a difference in his new role himself.

‘I am committed to the cause of tackling climate change and I am proud of the estate’s efforts to contribute to this challenge,’ William said.

‘If we can also help respond to social challenges such as mental health and homelessness, I will feel my term as duke has been worthwhile,’ he said.

He added: ‘I recognise that I have taken the helm at a challenging time for many Duchy tenants, businesses and communities.’

William said, like his father, he ‘will support the Duchy family through this, seeking to ensure the estate continues to evolve and move forward as a modern enterprise that delivers on our vision of sustainable stewardship – for communities, enterprise and nature’.

He previously told the Sunday Times that he had plans for social housing on Duchy land, but there were no apparent details in the Duchy financial accounts.

William talks to his father Charles at Duchy Home Farm in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, in 2004

William feeds Tamworth pigs during a visit to the Duchy Home Farm in Tetbury in 2004

Next year William is expected to receive the full £24million Duchy profit.

But Alastair Martin, the Duchy’s secretary and keeper of the records, suggested the estate may not reach those record figures again.

He put the boost from £23million to £24million down to some additional one-off income. 

‘This will not continue and the surplus for 2023/24 will not be at this level,’ he said. ‘Income will return to ongoing levels, there will be significant cost increases and a full repairs programme to finance.’

William will also have received money from his father for the funding of his official duties and his private life when he was Duke of Cambridge for the first six months of the 2022-23 financial year.

Charles’s bill for the activities of William, Kate and their family, and other costs including capital expenditure and transfer to reserve, was £4.38million 2021-22.

But the figure has not been disclosed this year, nor has any tax bill for Charles relating to the Duchy.

William’s tax bill for any Duchy money would be due in January 2024. He pays income tax on the surplus after official costs have been deducted.

Kensington Palace did disclose the gender balance of its staff for the first time – 64 per cent female and 36 per cent male.

And it disclosed that William and Kate’s household is made up of 50 people, but a breakdown of their roles was not given.

Some 16.3 per cent of their staff are from an ethnic minority background, compared with 13.6 per cent last year.

In the UK about 18 per cent of people belong to a black, Asian, mixed or other ethnic group, according to the 2021 Census data.