Prince William reportedly plans to sell 20 percent of his royal estate over the next 10 years to invest more than $670 million in housing and nature projects.
The Times reported Monday the Prince of Wales will sell a fifth of Duchy of Cornwall — which he’s controlled since his dad Charles became king in 2022 — and consolidate his holdings around the five key “heartlands”: Cornwall, Dartmoour, the Isles of Scilly, the Bath area and Kennington in South London.
William’s goal is to invest in local affordable housing and environmental projects in those UK areas, the outlet reported.
“We’re not the traditional landowner… we want to be more than that. There is so much good we can do. I’m trying to make sure I’m prioritizing stuff that’s going to make people’s lives, living in those areas, better,” the future king said in a statement, according to the BBC.
William, 43, gets nearly $27 million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall, which was established in 1337 to provide income to the heir to the throne.
The private estate is currently valued at nearly $1.5 billion, The Times reported.
Duchy of Cornwall chief executive Will Bax told the outlet William decided the estate “shouldn’t just exist to own land. It should first and foremost exist to have a positive impact on the world.”
“If we don’t see an opportunity for positive impact, then perhaps we don’t need to be a part of that place,” Bax said about William’s plans for the sale.
He added: “But where there is social need and where there is environmental challenge and where there is an opportunity to enable change, then we’ll be a great partner in working with people to achieve that.”
Bax explained William plans to put nearly $215 million into housing in Scilly, Cornwall and Kennington, with the goal of making 10,000 to 12,000 homes between now and 2040.
Bax also said they’ll underwrite about $161 million of reinvestment into workplaces and places “that will create economy” in the five heartlands.
As for the environmental projects, Bax revealed William wants to invest nearly $27 million into environmental recovery schemes and nearly $360 million into wildlife projects.
The Times report also revealed William is paying $411,435 a year to rent Forest Lodge, where he now lives with wife Kate Middleton and their children: Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8.
The future king and queen moved to the eight-bedroom Georgian mansion — which is being dubbed their “forever home” — in October.
The royal family previously lived in Adelaide Cottage for over three years.
