The duchy of Cornwall has a shiny new website declaring a mission to become a 'world-leading impact organisation.' Updating the site was the easy part. Upgrading hundreds of ageing, mostly rural rented cottages, farmhouses, and country houses? That's a bit harder.
One tenant, in failing health and struggling to heat a mostly uninsulated home with only coal-fired stoves, said: 'This place is not up to the standards of the 20th century, let alone the 21st. It's archaic. It needs to be upgraded but I don't think they want to spend the money.'
There's money, to be sure. Established in 1337 to fund male heirs to the throne, the duchy enjoys profit margins of about 60% and pays out more than £20m a year to Prince William, the 25th duke. It also dodges corporation tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax. Earlier this year, the duchy announced it would sell 20% of the estate over the next decade and invest £500m in local communities, housing, and environmental projects. William has promised to transform his inheritance, saying: 'There is so much good we can do. I'm trying to make sure I'm prioritising stuff that's going to make people's lives, living in those areas, better.'
But the same tenant isn't convinced: 'I'm sure this is one of the properties that he will sell and I don't know what will happen to me after that. Will they have to find somewhere else for me or will I just be turfed out?'
It's a dilemma facing many duchy tenants, most of whom are reluctant to speak out, in areas where the housing crisis is acute. Many properties, including duchy-owned ones, have become holiday lets, and second homes abound, leaving few rental options. The cottages may look idyllic, but many were built cheaply for agricultural workers. Older ones are stone; newer ones are single-skin brick. They cluster around farms and villages across Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, and Dartmoor.
Complaints are consistent: the duchy doesn't like spending money, repairs drag, and homes are cold. These properties don't make it into the glossy 'impact reports' - they feature newer developments like Poundbury and Nansledan. Commercial investments now make up over half of the duchy's income, but the homes will become a bigger headache as rental standards rise.
In response to the Guardian's investigation, the duchy said it has a 'unique portfolio, including many historic buildings located in isolated rural and island locations,' which brings 'unique challenges' addressed through a retrofit programme. They acknowledged work doesn't always happen as fast as they'd like. They pledged an additional £50m for existing properties, on top of the £500m, and noted they'd spent £11m on improvements since 2022 and delivered 150 'modern, energy-efficient homes, all of which are EPC A or B.' However, only six of those were duchy private rents; most were sold.
The duchy of Lancaster, covering 18,000 hectares from northern England to Northamptonshire and parts of London, faces similar issues. Inherited by King Charles in 2022, it said it places great importance on being a 'responsible landlord' and invested over £3m in repairs and upgrades last year. Sandringham, also inherited, doesn't publish accounts but says it invests in maintenance and improvements, with exemptions for some properties.
Together, the three estates are worth over £2bn and have more than 1,000 rental homes. Elizabeth Earle, a lawyer at Farrer & Co, which acts for both duchies, recently noted that new legislation 'may feel unduly hard on owners of older, rural and often energy-inefficient properties.' She wasn't talking about the royals, but said: 'The irony is that, while these are precisely the sort of properties in which people dream of living, it is becoming increasingly hard to let them - and nigh-on impossible to make them comply with modern standards.'
Indeed, the dream of a quaint countryside cottage loses some charm when you're shivering by a coal stove, wondering if the prince's 'impact' will ever reach your front door.