Duchy of Cornwall

For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation).

Duchy of Cornwall
Company typeCrown body (tax-exempt)
Founded17 March 1337 (687 years ago)
OwnerPrince William, Duke of Cornwall
Websiteduchyofcornwall.org

The Duchy of Cornwall (Cornish: Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of Duke of Cornwall at birth or when his parent succeeds to the throne, but may not sell assets for personal benefit and has limited rights and income while a minor.

The current duke is William, Prince of Wales. When the monarch has no male children, the rights and responsibilities of the duchy revert to the Crown.[a]

The Duchy Council, called the Prince's Council, meets twice a year and is chaired by the duke. The Prince's Council is a non-executive body which provides advice to the duke with regard to the management of the duchy.[2] The duchy also exercises certain legal rights and privileges across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, including some that elsewhere in England belong to the Crown. The duke appoints a number of officials in the county and acts as the port authority for the main harbour of the Isles of Scilly.

The government considers the duchy to be a crown body and therefore exempt from paying corporation tax. The tax exempt status of the duchy has been challenged.[3] From 1993 to his accession to the throne in 2022, Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall, paid income tax voluntarily on the surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall, after official expenditure had been deducted at the highest rate.[4] The practice is continued by his elder son and the current duke, Prince William.[5]

  1. ^ Evans, Rob; Lawrence, Felicity; Pegg, David (5 April 2023). "Revealed: royals took more than £1bn income from controversial estates". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference wmn5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "House of Commons – Public Accounts Committee: Written evidence from Republic". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – Duchy of Cornwall". Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ^ Davies, Caroline; Pegg, David (23 July 2024). "King to receive extra £45m of public money as crown estate income soars". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2024.


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