Prince William (44) will no longer collect rental income from a vacant prison. As the BBC reports, the British heir to the throne no longer wants to personally pocket the approximately 1.5 million pounds paid annually for Dartmoor Prison in the county of Devon. Starting from the 2026/27 financial year, the amount will be deducted from his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
Dartmoor Prison generates approximately 1.5 million pounds in lease income annually for the Duchy of Cornwall. The amount is part of a government lease agreement with the Ministry of Justice. However, the vacant prison is significantly more expensive for the government: According to a report by the British Parliament, a total of around four million pounds per year is spent on rent, business rates, and security. The 1.5 million pounds is therefore only the rental portion that William will personally forgo in the future.
The money should stay in the region
Instead of going into the prince's pocket, the money should, according to his wishes, flow into the renewal of the local community. The background is the situation surrounding the detention facility: The Category C prison has been vacant since July 2024, after elevated radon levels were measured in the inmates' accommodations.
For the people in neighboring Princetown, a remote community, the closure had noticeable consequences. William's private secretary Ian Patrick stated according to the BBC: "Prince William knows that the prison has long been part of the fabric of the community for many people in Princetown." And further: "Its closure has triggered real uncertainty - not just with regard to jobs and businesses, but also with regard to the future of the place itself." Next year, a community-based support fund is set to launch that should benefit Princetown socially, economically, and ecologically.
A contract from before William's tenure
The lease agreement itself dates back to a time when neither Charles (77) was King nor William was Prince of Wales. An investigation by the "Dispatches" program and the "Sunday Times" revealed in 2024 that the Duchy had concluded a 37-million-pound deal in 2022 to rent Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice. An annual payment of 1.5 million pounds was agreed upon over 25 years - in addition to an agreement with the Ministry of Defense that allows the armed forces to conduct exercises on the Dartmoor grounds.
As heir to the throne, William is entitled to the annual profits from the billion-pound land holdings of the Duchy, which extends over 51,800 hectares across 19 counties.
