Prince William’s special connection to Cornwall: As he meets with Duchy finance chiefs, how the Duke has been primed for the role he inherited from his father – from holidays with Diana to visits with his own children
- Prince William, 40, took part in his first finance meeting since receiving title
- Prince of Wales, who is also now Duke of Cornwall, has a long history with county
- Royal father-of-three used to holiday along the coast with Diana and Charles
- Meanwhile he has continued tradition by taking his own children to Tresco
- Duke has been on engagements to the area with Kate, now Duchess of Cornwall
Prince William may have only just become the Duke of Cornwall – but his connection to the county stretches back many years to his childhood.
Earlier this week, the new Prince of Wales, who is also the Duke of Cambridge and Cornwall, took part in his first Duchy of Cornwall finance committee meeting since he was granted the title.
The royal father-of-three has now inherited the Duchy of Cornwall — the £1 billion portfolio of land and property — after his father became King.
But his bond to the county has stretched back far longer than that – and includes happier holiday memories with his father and mother Diana, as well as his own family.
Prince William may have only just become the Duke of Cornwall – but his connection to the county stretches back many years to his childhood (pictured, with his father Prince Charles, brother Prince Harry and mother Diana in 1989)
The Duchy estate was established by Edward III to provide a private income for his son and heir to the throne Edward, later known as the Black Prince, and its purpose remains the same today.
Charles took over management of the Duchy when he was 21, after the Queen’s accession to the throne.
Today the estate is a private portfolio of land, financial investments and property including the Oval cricket ground in Kennington, south London, and 67,000 acres of Dartmoor.
And while it may be a new responsibility for William, he is no stranger to Cornwall, and has grown up visiting the county.
The new Prince of Wales, who is also the Duke of Cambridge and Cornwall, took part in his first Duchy of Cornwall finance committee meeting since he was granted the title last week (pictured, visiting the county for engagements in 2016)
The Duke visited Tresco island with his brother Harry and parents Charles and Diana as a child in June 1989.
A photograph from the break captures a seven-year-old William as he prepares for a bike ride alongside his family, with Diana seen standing behind him in a fuchsia jumper.
Over the years, he has also made several trips to the Duchy with his father, and Charles has long encouraged William to take an interest in its workings and its portfolio of land, financial investments and property.
The Duke first attended a meeting of the Prince’s Council , which oversees the management of the Duchy, in 2011.
In 2016, the new Prince of Wales visited Duchy projects in Cornwall and the Scillies with the Duchess of Cambridge
In 2016, he visited Duchy projects in Cornwall and the Scillies with the Duchess of Cambridge.
Images showed the pair boarding a boat to St Martins after visiting the Tresco Abbey Garden.
In November 2017, he received two officials from the Duchy of Cornwall at Kensington Palace. Wills had a private audience with Alastair Martin, secretary of the Duchy, and Keith Willis, the finance director.
In 2018, it appeared Prince William’s interest in the Duchy was ramping up. He went on a private visit to Poundbury, Charles’s model village.
Over the past couple of years William has accompanied his father to Duchy of Cornwall meetings, immersed himself in the estate’s business and movingly praised his father in last year’s ITV documentary on the subject.
Over the years, Prince William has visited Tresco a number of times with his own children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
Talking about the success of Charles’s stewardship, he said: ‘I’ve started to think about how I will inherit the Duchy one day and what I do with it. I think it’s really important, about the family angle, I really do.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Charles admitted he was ‘practically reduced to tears’ after his son William took an interest in taking over the Duchy of Cornwall.
He said he was ‘touched’ that William has taken an interest in the Duchy.
‘When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it, I was deeply touched and moved by what he said,’ Charles said.
Images showed the Prince and Princess of Wales boarding a boat to St Martins after visiting the Tresco Abbey Garden
‘It practically reduced me to tears. Because I suddenly thought, well, just hearing that from him, has made the last 50 years worthwhile.’
Elsewhere in the same film, the Duke of Cambridge spoke about his ‘passion’ for farming and revealed that his children are already playing on tractors.
During a visit to a Duchy farm, William said he should have brought along his eldest child, Prince George.
‘He would be absolutely loving this. He’s obsessed,’ William said with a laugh.
William spoke to farmers about how vital family is to the estate and how important the outdoors are to his own family.
In 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, William took his family to the island of Tresco for a summer break, where they stayed at his father’s home of Dolphin House (pictured in the county in 2016)
‘My children are already playing on the tractors and … it’s so important to get outside, and have the children understand nature,’ William said.
Charles’s eldest son said he is ‘very passionate’ about farming and is learning as much as he can on the Queen’s estate at Sandringham.
Elsewhere, William revealed he would keep the transition from his father to him smooth.
‘Rest assured I’m not going to rock the boat. I’ll do much the same as what my father’s doing,’ William said.
In 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, William took his family to the island of Tresco for a summer break, where they stayed at his father’s home of Dolphin House.
William and Kate were spotted ‘enjoying the weather’ and stopping to greet their fellow holidaymakers as they cycled across Tresco, Isles of Scilly.
The royals decided to venture to the island near the coast of Cornwall for a ‘quick getaway’ before George and Charlotte returned to school, an insider said.
Dolphin House is just yards away from the sea, allowing Kate and William to take their buckets and spades to the beach with George, Charlotte and Louis.
The family went for a bike ride around the car-free island and were seen smiling and chatting to residents.
And last year, Prince William and Kate enjoyed a family holiday on the Isles of Scilly for the second year running, before returning for the G7 summit alongside the now King, Queen Consort and late Queen
Back at Dolphin House, they would have been able to enjoy complete privacy behind the former rectory’s 10ft-thick granite walls, and perhaps a barbecue in the large garden. There’s an air of quiet luxury about the house, with its trim hedges and pristine sub-tropical flower borders.
After the Royals departed from Tresco’s heliport on Thursday afternoon, a local onlooker said: ‘William and Kate were both smiling widely and looked really happy and relaxed. Their bodyguards had big smiles too – it was clear to see that it had been a really good holiday.’
An Isles of Scilly resident told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Dolphin House really is an idyllic and modest holiday home for families.
‘Kate, William and the children certainly will have made the most of how peaceful it is there, and the island’s residents made sure to leave them alone and not disturb their trip.’
It remains to be seen whether Kate and Will will start planning an annual trip to the area, as King Charles and Camilla did each year during their time as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (pictured, earlier this year in Mousehole)
A Royal source said: ‘They decided on a quick getaway before the children return to school. They were keen to support our travel industry.’
As well as their 2020 summer holiday in the Scillies, the family returned in October and stayed in a modest four-bedroom stone cottage.
And last year, Prince William and Kate enjoyed a family holiday on the Isles of Scilly for the second year running.
The Prince and Princess were believed to have travelled there for a staycation with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
They then returned for a second trip to Cornwall as they took part in the G7 summit in the area.
Prince William and Kate joined the King, Queen Consort and the late Queen, and they attended a reception at the Eden Project with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and wife Carrie and G7 leaders.
It remains to be seen whether Kate and Will will start planning an annual trip to the area, as King Charles and Camilla did each year during their time as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.
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