Prince William informed a cheeky 11-year-old boy yesterday that he ‘did not know’ how a lot cash was in his checking account after being tickled by the shock query throughout his go to to a youth membership in Manchester.
The Prince of Wales was assembly younger folks in Moss Facet on the Hideaway Youth Venture – lead associate of the Manchester Peace Collectively Alliance – when he was caught off-guard by the query.
Younger Amir Hassan made the royal snort when he requested boldly: ‘How a lot do you’ve got in your checking account?’
The schoolboy revealed afterwards that the inheritor to the throne had quipped that he ‘did not know’ – however the prince’s fortune is laid naked within the Duchy of Cornwall’s annual reviews.
Final September, Prince William was predicted by The Sunday Occasions to be value a staggering £1.05billion after inheriting his father King Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall property when the Queen died.
The inheritance successfully made William – who can be Duke of Cornwall – a billionaire as he grew to become the largest non-public landowner in Britain, with a £1.2billion holding throughout 23 counties, together with farms, housing developments, seven castles, woodland, coastlines and business property. Virtually 90 per cent of the Duchy’s holdings are actual property.
Among the many astonishing portfolio is London’s Oval cricket floor – which was once a cabbage patch – Highgrove, close to Tetbury, the Dorset city of Poundbury and Tintagel Fortress in Cornwall.
Prince William in Manchester yesterday, the place he informed a cheeky 11-year-old boy that he ‘did not know’ how a lot cash was in his checking account after being tickled by the shock query throughout his go to to a youth membership in Manchester


The Duchy of Cornwall owns Highgrove, which was inherited by Prince William, who’s pictured there as a baby whereas on a pony being led by his mom, Princess Diana

The Kennington Oval cricket floor (pictured) was once a cabbage patch and market backyard owned by the Duchy of Cornwall
Different belongings embrace £345million of business property in London, Milton Keynes and elsewhere.
The recognition of staycations amid the Covid disaster boosted earnings from the Duchy’s vacation cottages with document bookings, whereas the Duchy plant nursery in Lostwithiel, Cornwall additionally had a powerful yr.
William, just like the King, doesn’t have a free rein with the belongings however he can use the property’s income – that are known as ‘surpluses’ within the Duchy’s accounts – to be able to fund his ‘public, non-public and charitable’ actions.
Figures present how the prince, who grew to become Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay following his father’s accession, has amassed much more wealth because the Duchy’s fortunes improve.
For 2020-21, the full fortune stood at £21.241million – however this jumped to £24.646million final yr after which elevated once more to £26.311million for the yr ending March 2023.
From final yr’s document web surplus of £24.048million, William had entry to £12.773million whereas his father took £11.275million.
Normally William would get the £24million as his non-public earnings, however his funds had been difficult by him changing into inheritor to the throne midway via the monetary yr.
Kensington Palace defined on the time that as a ‘one-off related to the change in Dukes of Cornwall’, the Duchy staff requested to retain a proportion of the excess for ‘working capital functions’ – the day-to-day working of the property – this yr.
The Duchy saved £6.873million, leaving William with an earnings of £5.9million.

Tintagel Fortress (pictured) can be owned by the Duchy. William’s property portfolio has elevated considerably

Constructed on Duchy of Cornwall land, Poundbury (pictured) is at present residence to some 4,600 folks in a mixture of non-public and inexpensive housing

The Duchy additionally owns Restormel Fortress close to close to Lostwithiel in Cornwall (pictured)

It is believed the Duchy owns Charles’s Welsh residence at Llwynywermod close to the Brecon Beacons (pictured)
William was already extraordinarily rich, having inherited round £10million when his late mom Diana died and one other £7million after the Queen Mom’s loss of life in 2002.
King Charles’s non-public fortune is believed to have soared to £1.8billion, the Guardian reported in April.
William, within the Duchy’s most up-to-date monetary accounts, paid tribute to his father for leaving an ‘indelible mark’ on the Duchy and being captivated with driving ahead change. He described eager to make a distinction in his new position himself.
‘I’m dedicated to the reason for tackling local weather change and I’m pleased with the property’s efforts to contribute to this problem,’ William mentioned.
‘If we will additionally assist reply to social challenges akin to psychological well being and homelessness, I’ll really feel my time period as duke has been worthwhile,’ he mentioned.
He added: ‘I recognise that I’ve taken the helm at a difficult time for a lot of Duchy tenants, companies and communities.’
William mentioned, like his father, he ‘will assist the Duchy household via this, in search of to make sure the property continues to evolve and transfer ahead as a contemporary enterprise that delivers on our imaginative and prescient of sustainable stewardship – for communities, enterprise and nature’.

Prince William, 41, marked the launch of the Royal Basis Neighborhood Affect Venture with the go to to the youth centre yesterday, the place he was joined by Higher Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham

William speaks with kids throughout his go to to the Moss Facet Millennium Powerhouse

He seemed very centered on a sport of pool through the go to as observers checked out his strategic play
After the figures had been printed, Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, known as on the Prince to report his earnings and expenditure in full, and for his Duchy earnings to be given to native communities throughout the nation as a substitute.
Graham Smith, chief govt of Republic, mentioned: ‘William has some explaining to do as a result of a change of monarch and inheritor is not any excuse to row again on what little transparency there may be.’
He added: ‘There may be completely no cause why William’s family can not present a full set of accounts for this monetary yr.
‘Because the recipient of public funds from the state-owned Duchy he needs to be reporting his earnings and expenditure.
‘As Duchy income look like rising to a document £24million it is time we demanded the return of the Duchies (of Cornwall and Lancaster) to the folks and for income to be spent on native communities.’
Final yr it was reported that the Royal Household’s fortune now exceeds £20billion, making The Agency value greater than Tesco, Britain’s greatest retailer at £17billion.
William is considered value, £1.05billion whereas his father’s fortune stands at £900million.
Harry and Meghan had been estimated to be value £20million, though model consultants have mentioned that their new life within the US, coupled with their royal connection, may earn them $1billion at some point.
Princess Anne could possibly be value £50million, Prince Edward £10million and Prince Andrew £5million regardless of his personal current authorized payments.
The Royal Household’s money and belongings was estimated to be between £20billion and £24billion, though this consists of £1.4billion of property akin to Buckingham Palace, which solely belongs to the monarch in an official capability.
The Crown Property is value £16.5billion.