But if it aspires to be Crown i. In fact, since the millennium, profits have almost quadrupled. The Scene. Type keyword s to search. Richard Stonehouse Getty Images.
The Duchy of Lancaster standard. The Duchy of Lancaster includes numerous farms. Samir Hussein Getty Images. He held in his hand a letter from a Cornish magistrate, of high character and station, distinctly charging the Duchy with having refused to fill up leases with new lives, which had from the earliest times been the custom in the property, and on the faith of which improvements had been made—which would now be lost.
There were many matters connected with the Duchy of Cornwall which required consideration, and with which the House ought to deal, and he hoped the House would grant the inquiry for which he moved: on every ground, public and private, it ought to be conceded. The grounds alleged by the hon. Member for Tavistock for his Motion, were that the property was mismanaged, that it was managed so as to injure the public, and that acts of oppression were exercised under the mode in which it was managed.
It was manifest that the House had no right to inquire into the management of any property unless it was of a public character. They had no right to inquire into the management of property purely of a private nature, and the hon.
The original grant was by Edward III. The heir-apparent was born Duke of Cornwall, and he had complete power of disposing of the revenues of the Duchy, from his birth till his accession to the Throne, exactly as he might think fit. He the Solicitor General could not therefore see the distinction between this case and that of any other private property, except that it was held in this instance by a personage of the most exalted rank, save one, in this country.
The case was strictly one of property belonging to an individual in his private, and not in any public capacity. The hon. Member, in justification of his proposal for inquiry, had contended that in the Act of the 1st and 2nd of the Queen, there was a clause directing the accounts of the Duchy to be annually submitted to the Commissioners of the Treasury.
But it might be very proper for Parliament to provide for the security and preservation of the property of the heir-apparent; but that Act did not make the property public property, or impress upon it a character which should impart to the public any concern in it. They could only have the right to inquire into the disposal of any revenues in which the public was directly interested.
Gentleman had argued that when the Prince of Wales became of age it was a matter of considerable moment to know what were his private sources of revenue. The mere contingent possibility that the Prince of Wales might ask an allowance to be paid out of the taxes, did not confer a right on Parliament to inquire how he managed or applied his private property. It did not appear that the property had been mismanaged.
The salaries for six years previous to Her Majesty's accession amounted to 8, l. Savings had been effected to the extent of 10, l. The returns from the property had progressively increased, and had amounted to 22, l. In the absence of any specific charges, it was sufficient to show the great decrease which had taken place in the expenditure, the reasons why that expense should be incurred, and the improvements which had taken place.
With respect to a diminution of stock from l. To prevent the accumulation of water, it had been thought advisable to work certain mines till the price of copper and other circumstances should allow the property to be let again. That had been done for two years. The House would bear in mind that the property was now managed by a council, who conducted the affairs of the Duchy with great care and attention, and who were well acquainted with the subject; and although the charges might appear considerable, it must be remembered that the nature of the property was peculiar, consisting of small portions, scattered over a great number of places.
It might be desirable or not, that the property should be otherwise situated; but there were no means of altering it, and the hon.
Gentleman did not propose to do so, but merely to inquire into the mode of management; and he the Solicitor General had shown how it was managed, and that the amount of charges for managing had of late considerably diminished. As to the improvement of the property, a considerable amount had during the last few years accrued from fines, and the granting of a number of new lives, and for a period of many years the property had increased in that respect.
In the amount received for fines was about 9, l. These facts proved that a very great improvement had taken place in the property, while, at the same time, he had shown that there had been a great decrease in the expenditure. Gentleman stated that oppressions were practised in the management of the property.
Now, as he had before said, this property was not public, but absolutely private; but if it were so managed as injuriously to affect the property in a legal or illegal way, it might be a fair subject for the House to inquire into, with a view to protect the property; but the hon. Gentleman was bound to specify what those acts of oppression were, and to be prepared with the details.
As regarded the persons who had advanced money on improvements, and on the lives failing were unable to obtain a renewal, the House very well knew that that was an every day occurrence in the case of renewable leaseholds, and he thought they would be hardly induced to institute an inquiry upon the complaint of a tenant that had been ill-treated by the exercise of his landlord's undeniable right of not renewing a lease.
This was a case which it appeared to him must be left to the working of the law, or else leave must be moved for to bring in a Bill for the alteration of the law. Member did not do that, but merely moved for inquiry, saying that he had abundant evidence to produce before a Committee. But that would not do.
It was necessary for him to specify the particular grounds upon which he meant to rely in order that the House might judge whether it was a case for inquiry or not. He confidently submitted to the House, therefore, that this Committee ought not to be granted, because the property in question was absolutely private property, and managed for a private individual, although one of exalted position; and because the fact of accounts being laid before the Treasury and Parliament did not take it out of the category of private property.
If the House considered the circumstances of the case they would find that the property was really well managed, and that there was nothing before them to warrant a suspicion that this was a case for inquiry. He had heard the remarks of the hon. Why, if there was any one property in the whole country of a character to justify a public inquiry, it was the property of the Duchy of Cornwall. It had been created by Act of Parliament; it had been constantly dealt with by Act of Parliament; and it was now under the management of trustees created by Act of Parliament.
His hon. But not only had the property been created by Act of Parliament, but it had been constantly dealt with by Act of Parliament. At the time of the establishment of Queen Anne's civil list it was expressly assigned by statute to the Crown for the maintenance of its honour and dignity; and it had been specified in subsequent civil lists, either in terms or specially excepted, but excepted by name—thus showing the right of Parliament and the public to take a direct interest in it.
If, as he earnestly hoped, the Prince of Wales should come to man's estate, the House of Commons would be asked to make provision for him. This Duchy was an appanage of the Prince of Wales, given to him by Act of Parliament, and to which he had no right but by Act of Parliament; and it was therefore a very material public question in what manner the property was managed, and how the revenues were disposed of, for it might be that the property was so valuable, and the revenues so growing and productive, that in the course of some fifteen years the produce, if discreetly managed, might yield so large an in- come as to render it unnecessary for Parliament to make further provision for the Prince of Wales.
He might add, on this subject, that besides the returns being annually laid before Parliament, the office of the Duchy of Cornwall was a public office in Somerset House, for which no rent was paid. Under such circumstances, it could not, he thought, be justly contended that this property was in the same position as private property. At all events, he should like to know what difference there was between the right of Parliament to deal with the inheritance to the Crown lands, which were under public management, and with the property of the Duchy of Cornwall.
It stood peculiarly in the position of a property belonging to the public, into which the public was entitled to inquire. What then was the case for inquiry? The truth was, it was rather a difficult matter to make out the case, for the materials were not laid before them; but there were strong grounds for supposing the management would not he found so creditable if the light of public investigation were thrown upon it.
He had before him the accounts, and an abstract of the returns of the Duchy of Cornwall laid before the House for the last eight years, from which it appeared to him that the trustees had been doing that which they had no legal power whatever to do. He found by the last account that 4, l. The Duchy Act gave the trustees power to appropriate the revenue to the general purposes of that Act, or to apply money arising from sales and exchanges to pay certain expenses therein specified; but, he contended, that the trustees, when they once had made advances out of revenue, had no legal power to recoup themselves out of the inheritance.
Then he found the following entry among the expenditure:— Payment to the account of the Duke of Cornwall at the Bank of England, under the Act 7 and 8 Vict. The revenues from the estate are passed to HRH The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, who chooses to use them to fund his public, charitable and private activities and those of his family.
The Duchy consists of around 53, hectares of land in 23 counties, mostly in the South West of England. The principal activity of the Duchy is the sustainable, commercial management of its land and properties. The Duchy also has a financial investment portfolio. When His Royal Highness was 21, in , he became entitled to the full income of the Duchy and took over its management. In , he celebrated 60 years as Duke of Cornwall, making The Prince of Wales the longest-serving Duke of Cornwall in the estate's history.
Dukes of Cornwall have traditionally managed their own estates. The current Duke is actively involved in running the Duchy and his philosophy is to improve the estate and pass it on to future Dukes in a stronger and better condition.
The Prince of Wales takes a long-term stewardship approach and has proved that environmental and agricultural best practice are compatible with a sound financial return. The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall Accounts Act gave the Treasury a role to ensure that actions taken by any Duke when managing the Duchy cannot compromise the long-term value of the estate.
With the exception of the Secretary and Keeper of the Records, The Prince's Council is a non-executive body which provides advice to His Royal Highness with regard to the management of the Duchy. She also undertakes public engagements on behalf of her own charities and has become Patron or President of 90 organisations, a number of which operate in the Duchy of Cornwall. Learn more about The Duchess of Cornwall here. The Duchy owns 7, hectares of land in Cornwall, which is 13 per cent of the overall Duchy estate.
While the two Duchies have similarities, the management and control of the Duchy of Cornwall is entirely separate to that of the Duchy of Lancaster. Duchy Originals is a separate organisation to The Duchy of Cornwall. The business was founded by the Prince of Wales in and, in , Waitrose obtained the exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute and sell Duchy Originals products in the UK.
The brand continues to use oats from Duchy Home Farm to make its famous oaten biscuits and all profits from the sale of Duchy Originals products are donated to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation. Under the charter, The Prince of Wales is not entitled to the proceeds or profit on the sale of capital assets — and only receives the annual income which they generate, which is voluntarily subject to income tax. The Duchy of Cornwall is not audited by the National Audit Office because it is a private estate rather than a publicly owned entity.
It is, however, audited by independent external auditors. Like everyone else, The Prince of Wales pays income tax including on his income from the Duchy of Cornwall. This is not a requirement but something His Royal Highness chooses to do voluntarily.
The Duchy of Cornwall estate is not a corporation and therefore not subject to Corporation tax. Though there are currently six royal dukes in the UK, there are only two royal duchies, or territories associated with a dukedom. Meghan's dad may miss wedding over surgery. Royal wedding: All you need to know. Image source, Reuters. So, what are Harry and Meghan likely to receive?
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