Prince William says he wants to embrace ‘change for good.’ Now he’s putting some of his land up for sale

What that actually means for the 43-year-old heir to the throne is something that will only emerge in time, but one possibility appeared the other day when a report surfaced in the Times that his private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, will sell 20 per cent of its property over the next decade. It will also invest 500 million pounds (about $928 million Cdn) in local communities.

Some of that investment is earmarked for areas that have become priorities for William, including environmental projects and affordable housing.

“We’re not the traditional landowner … we want to be more than that. There is so much good we can do. I’m trying to make sure I’m prioritizing stuff that’s going to make people’s lives, living in those areas, better,” William said, according to the BBC.

The Duchy of Cornwall holds more than 52,000 hectares of land and has 200 staff, according to its 2025 report. In 2024-25, it provided a net distributable surplus of nearly 22.9 million pounds (about $42.5 million Cdn) to Prince William.

The decision to sell the land is an example of the kind of change William has been talking about, Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert and lecturer in law at Royal Holloway, University of London, said in an interview.

“Selling 20 per cent of the duchy is a very significant amount. This is a very big reprofiling of the duchy, and … in 10 years’ time it will look very different.”

Prescott also sees the decision against a larger backdrop of criticism that has been directed at the financial workings of the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster, the private estate held by the monarch, William’s father, King Charles.

“The duchies have been criticized of late for being, in a sense, commercial operations, and I thought this is about just softening that up so that the duchies become more aligned with Prince William’s idea of being a prince and … of using the monarchy for public good,” Prescott said.

“In a sense, the duchies increasingly felt out of line with that.”

On its website, the Duchy of Cornwall says it is “on a mission to become a world-leading impact organization” and a place “where nature enriches people and people enrich nature.”

Royal historian Justin Vovk sees the decision to sell off the land as historic.

“This is one of the most significant changes that we have seen in terms of the Royal Family turning over or converting their personal assets for public use,” he said in an interview. “It does now set a precedent for this to be done with other lands.”

Scrutiny consistently falls on the monarchy regarding its vast assets, and Prescott said “politicians are snooping around” — particularly after attention focused on the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease of a property on the Crown estate, from which he was eventually evicted.

“Royal Lodge, the duchies, all can sort of be mixed up into one toxic pot in the sense of … the Royal Family and property,” Prescott said.

“There’s a very political saying here of ‘snouts in the trough,’ and so you could easily imagine that narrative perhaps taking hold. And if [William] can put across a more positive message, and not one that’s propaganda but just … to do something that’s obviously for the public good, then that might head off some of that criticism.”

“I think we’re going to see … more of this ‘for good’ monarchy to show that it can exist to benefit people’s lives, in a lot of ways carrying on the legacy from Diana, Princess of Wales,” he said.

“I think … that is going to be the core brand certainly for William and Catherine during their time as Prince and Princess of Wales.”

The ‘spectre’ of Andrew

Headlines continue to swirl around the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, with recent attention focusing on government papers regarding his appointment as a trade envoy and word that the ongoing police investigation of him could include allegations of sexual misconduct.

Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February and released under investigation. The arrest followed scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has previously denied all wrongdoing and is living on his brother King Charles’s private Sandringham estate.

According to recently released U.K. government documents, Queen Elizabeth was “very keen” to see Andrew become a trade envoy in 2000.

While the documents attracted media attention in the U.K., Vovk said they don’t tell us very much about what was going on behind the scenes at the time.

“If anything, it tells us more about 25 years ago how the Royal Family transitioned between members in different offices, because the original document talks about the fact that the Duke of Kent was stepping out of that role. They needed somebody to fulfil it. There was nobody else available, and the Queen felt like Andrew would be a good fit,” he said.

On the police investigation front, the Guardian reported, Thames Valley Police say they would like witnesses to get in touch if they think they have information about alleged sexual misconduct, corruption, fraud or sharing of confidential information involving Andrew.

Prescott said that could show that police are trying to be comprehensive in their investigation.

“Misconduct in a public office can take many forms,” he said. “I think it was a reminder to the public that if they do have any information more generally, because you might have thought they weren’t looking into sex or anything like that because of the circumstances.”

As much as these headlines have appeared in recent days, there is a sense that members of the Royal Family have put some distance between themselves and Andrew.

“Andrew will always be a spectre that haunts the Royal Family, but since his disestablishment and the removal of his titles in 2025, that really does seem to, in the public eye, have cut that cord between Andrew and the current Royal Family,” Vovk said.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of King Charles and a former prince, has been arrested by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein, according to multiple U.K. media reports.

But we are seeing, Vovk said, that Andrew’s misdeeds cast a long shadow over the Royal Family’s legacy.

“That’s what we’re seeing with these stories about, well, the Queen — what did the Queen know? What did she not know? Did she protect him?” he said.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of these questions about Andrew and his misdeeds being attached to, unfortunately, the latter half of Elizabeth’s reign and obviously the early part of Charles’s.”

Travelling again — this time to Northern Ireland

The travel miles keep accumulating for King Charles.

Less than a month after his trip to the United States and Bermuda, Charles was off again, this time closer to home, for a three-day visit with Queen Camilla to Northern Ireland.

“The King has shown a deep interest in Ireland more generally and has talked about Ireland,” Prescott said. “I think he says it’s his wish to visit every county.”

The visit is the latest in what seem to be regular and repeated visits to the constituent parts of the United Kingdom.

“I think there is a big question in the next few years as to what momentum there might be in [Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland] for some form of independence from the United Kingdom,” Prescott said.

“The one thing that the King can do in the years ahead is to just keep up that presence in the nations … because that just reflects the fact that he’s King of the United Kingdom.”

A royal learns a lesson in the Canadian winter

In the bitterness of a Canadian winter four decades ago, the future King Felipe of Spain learned lessons that live with him still.

“I remember, among many experiences — of course — a fire drill in the middle of a harsh Canadian winter, when we stood outside under the open sky, facing close to –20 C,” the Spanish monarch said during a speech the other day at the Ontario school where he was a student in the 1980s.

“It was, perhaps, a simple moment, but it taught me something about resilience and the quiet strength that comes from facing challenges together.”

Felipe was in Canada last week for a visit that took him from Ottawa to Toronto and the school near Peterborough, Ont., where he boarded in 1984-85.

While in Ottawa, he met Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Prime Minister Mark Carney. In Toronto, he attended a session focusing on co-operation between Canada and Spain in artificial intelligence and presented a literary award to author Margaret Atwood.

In his speech there, he spoke of how his time at Lakefield prepared him for the role he has today representing Spain around the world, and how he sees the school’s vision — to inspire leaders who care, connect and contribute — speaking “directly to the needs of our time.”

“Our democracies depend on individuals who are willing to serve, to uphold shared values and to work for the common good, even when it is tough and demanding,” he said. “To lead is not to impose but to guide; not to divide but to bring together; not to seek recognition but to serve others.”

In those words, Vovk heard something “very, very similar” to the speech King Charles made to the U.S. Congress late last month.

“This is the kind of vocabulary that we are hearing more and more of,” Vovk said.

“We’re hearing this growing chorus calling for international co-operation, but in particular dialogue along respectful terms and effectively pushing back against — let’s be blunt — essentially pushing back against the Trump administration.”

Canada has been seeing something of a stream of European leaders visiting of late. Last fall, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were in Ottawa and Montreal. Last month, Carney welcomed Finnish President Alexander Stubb to Ottawa.

That ramp-up of European presence in Canada isn’t coincidental, Vovk suggests.

“At a time when the U.S., as one of the cornerstones both of NATO and of the entire concept of Western freedom and democracy, [is] questioning the relevance of an alliance like NATO, questioning its centuries of historic ties with Europe, the exchanging of leaders, particularly with Canada, is one of the best ways to promote those ties, and it’s a way for Canada to say we are not isolating.”

Royally quotable

“She’s an amazing mum, an amazing wife and literally our family couldn’t cope without her.”

— Prince William, speaking about Catherine, Princess of Wales, during a radio interview.

Royal reads

Police officers accused of being asleep when they were supposed to be protecting the Royal Family at Windsor Castle have been placed under investigation. [The Guardian]

Prince William was every Aston Villa fan as the soccer team ended its 30-year wait for a trophy by beating Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul. [BBC]

A small Pacific oyster farm in southwestern England is being shut down after pressure from the Duchy of Cornwall, Prince William’s private estate that owns the riverbed. [BBC]

Princess Anne’s son-in-law, Mike Tindall, has opened up about his father’s “brutal” battle with Parkinson’s disease. [Daily Mail]

King Charles was praised for his “innate understanding that we need to be in harmony with nature,” as he visited a project aimed at promoting red squirrels by limiting their grey cousins’ numbers using contraceptives. [The Independent]

A rare King Arthur manuscript is going up for auction. Scholars hope it won’t end up in a private collection. [CBC]