King Charles Earns $65 Million Annually Tax-Free Charging For Services On Royal Lands Including Operating Schools & Digging Graves

A new investigation has claimed King Charles and Prince William are making millions of dollars annually from their respective estates’ charities and public service efforts.

The Sunday Times, joined by the U.K. current affairs show Dispatch, unveiled the investigation. It alleges that the royals are taking in large sums of money through the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate of 44,748 acres of land in England and Wales owned by King Charles, and the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate of nearly 130,000 acres of land in England owned by Prince William. Both estates were established centuries ago to guarantee income for the sovereign and heir to the throne.

According to The Sunday Times‘ five-month investigation, the two duchies are generating millions by “charging government departments, councils, businesses, mining companies and the general public via a series of commercial rents and feudal levies on land largely seized by medieval monarchs.”

“The Duchy Files show the royals charge for the right to cross rivers; offload cargo onto the shore; run cables under their beaches; operate schools and charities; and even dig graves. They earn revenue from toll bridges, ferries, sewage pipes, churches, village halls, pubs, distilleries, gas pipelines, boat moorings, opencast and underground mines, car parks, rental homes and wind turbines,” the outlet claimed.

The findings are troublesome because King Charles and Prince William “operate as commercial landlords” with a special Treasury agreement “exempting them from paying tax on their corporate profits.” The royals are profiting off of the army, the navy, prisons and schools and the National Health Service.

In 2023, the duchies reportedly earned around $65 million, with King Charles receiving roughly $35 million from the Duchy of Lancaster and Prince William receiving $30 million from the Duchy of Cornwall.

In a statement, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall reminded the public of their privacy statuses and commitment to public service.

The incomes of the royal family members have been the subject of conversation recently, as Prince Harry inherited $8.5 million from his family estate on his 40th birthday, leaving his brother “disgusted.”