Prince William Exposes His Vast £21.6M Income, £7.7M Tax Bill, and Forgoes £1.5M Prison Cash

Prince William has disclosed a private income of £21.6 million for 2025–26 and revealed he paid £7.76 million in tax for 2024–25, and he has asked that the £1.5 million a year rental payment from the closed Dartmoor Prison be removed from his Duchy of Cornwall accounts and redirected into the local community, the Duchy said on Thursday.

The move, announced by the prince's private secretary, follows the prison's closure in July 2024 after hazardous radon levels were found and comes as William implements a wider overhaul of the 689‑year‑old Duchy.

The Duchy signed the lease that generated the £1.5 million annual rent in 2022, before William inherited the title of Duke of Cornwall from his father, King Charles. The Ministry of Justice continues to pay the rent under a long‑running lease while it considers the prison's future, the site at Princetown in Devon has been empty since radon readings forced the transfer of inmates and staff.

The Duchy says the prince has instructed that the income be kept in the local area while uncertainty remains, and that a community‑led regeneration fund will be set up to support Princetown.

Why William Gave Up The Rent

The Duchy framed the decision as a judgment rooted in direct observation of local harm, William's private secretary Ian Patrick said the duke had 'seen first‑hand the impact that the prison's continued closure is having on the local community' and believed the money should be used to 'help the area build for the future while uncertainty remains.'

The fund is intended to support local businesses, upgrade community facilities including the youth centre, and expand environmental programmes, the Duchy added. The statement positions the forgoing of income not as charity but as a targeted reinvestment in the place most affected by the prison's shutdown.

That shutdown has been a fraught, technical affair. Radon, an invisible, naturally occurring radioactive gas linked to lung cancer was recorded at elevated levels in parts of the prison, prompting the evacuation of inmates in mid‑2024 and leaving Princetown, an isolated moorland town, with real questions about jobs and economic purpose.

The Ministry of Justice still pays the agreed rent while it waits for Health and Safety Executive recommendations, and parliamentary scrutiny has flagged the financial cost of keeping the site on lease while it sits unused.

Duchy Overhaul And The Bigger Picture

William's decision on the Dartmoor income comes amid a strategic reshaping of the Duchy. The estate plans to concentrate assets on five principal areas Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Dartmoor, Bath and surrounding areas, and Kennington in south London and to reduce holdings elsewhere so capital and land can be deployed where the Duchy says it will achieve greater social and environmental impact.

Chief Executive Will Bax described the new approach as shifting the Duchy from passive stewardship to 'active leadership,' using lands, capital and partnerships to deliver social and environmental value alongside financial sustainability.

The annual accounts released alongside these changes show the duke received £21.6 million in private income for 2025–26 and paid a combined income and capital gains tax bill of £7.76 million for 2024–25, figures the palace has published for the first time. Kensington Palace also disclosed that the royal household staff total has risen to 74, with diversity figures showing 14.9 per cent from ethnic minority backgrounds and 73 per cent female representation.

Local Reaction And The Stakes For Princetown

Officials say the regeneration fund will be community‑led, implying local control over how the redirected rent is spent, but questions remain about scale, timelines and what happens if the Ministry of Justice decides to resume rental payments to the Duchy or to exit the lease early.

For Princetown residents, who for generations regarded the prison as central to local employment and identity, the injection of funds offers an opportunity, albeit one that depends on detailed plans and quick delivery. The Duchy's language stresses obligation, the money should 'remain in the community, helping local people shape that future,' rather than disappear into central accounts.

Nothing is confirmed yet so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.