King Charles ‘reduced to tears’ by Prince William’s surprise comment about future

Prince William took over the huge Duchy of Cornwall estate when his father King Charles became King – and the heir to the throne’s previous comments about this provoked an emotional response in Charles

The last few years have been full of upheaval for the Royal Family – especially King Charles and Prince William.

The monarch and his eldest son have seen their roles dramatically change within the Firm in the past two years with Charles now King following the death of his mother the late Queen in September 2022 and William now being the Prince of Wales.

When William became heir to the throne, it came with the title of Duke of Cornwall and responsibility for overseeing the vast Duchy of Cornwall estate. It was previously run by Charles for more than 50 years when he was Prince of Wales and took great interest in its success.

The pair at Royal Ascot in 2019 (
Image:
Getty Images)
And during an ITV documentary, Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall, viewers saw Charles open up like never before – where he revealed how a comment by his eldest son about the estate reduced him to tears.

In a clip, viewers saw William talking to a second-generational farmer, Mervyn Keeling, about his private estate. William, thinking about the future at the time, 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, the family angle, I really do.”

Viewers were then shown a clip of Charles, who reflected on the conversation between his son and the farmer. He revealed: “When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it. I was deeply touched and moved by what he said. Frankly, it reduced me to tears. It did, really. Because, I suddenly thought, well, just hearing that from him has made the last 50 years worthwhile.”

Now, since becoming the Duke of Cornwall, William has taken full reponsibility for the Duchy of Cornwall – and beginning to make his own mark on it. Back in February, William announced announced plans to build homes on Duchy of Cornwall land to tackle homelessness in the South West of England.

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Working with Cornish homelessness charity St Petrocs, the project will provide 24 homes in Nansledan, Newquay, with “wrap around support” for local people experiencing homelessness to create a path to a permanent home. The development of “high quality temporary accommodation that feels like home” is due to begin in September with the first homes expected to be completed in the autumn of next year, according to a statement from the estate.

The Duchy of Cornwall is a portfolio of land, property and investments valued at more than £1 billion, which provide an income for the heir to the throne. In a newspaper interview last year, William, was asked if there were plans for affordable housing on his Duchy of Cornwall land and replied: “There is. Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready.”