Prince William and Kate Middleton Make Their First Joint Visit to Cornwall in Their New Roles

When Queen Elizabeth died, Prince William and Kate immediately became the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, as well as being given the titles Prince and Princess of Wales. Today, they have made their first joint visit to Cornwall since taking on their new roles, spending the day learning about the county’s heritage and community projects.

The couple’s first stop was the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth to mark its 20th year, where they were set to learn about Cornwall’s maritime heritage. They spent time in the museum’s workshop where local people were working on the refurbishment of a sailing dinghy which was presented to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as a wedding present from the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1947.

“Their Royal Highnesses will also hear from a group of young people who are taking part in the ‘Young and Talented Cornwall’ scheme which provides financial support to help young people from across Cornwall fulfill their potential, regardless of their financial means or background,” Kensington Palace said in a statement. “In total, the fund has given out almost £350,000 to some 275 individuals in the past ten years – supporting future Olympic medal winners, international rugby players, and musicians now playing in major orchestras, among others.”

When William became Duke of Cornwall, he inherited the Duchy of Cornwall which gives him an income to carry out his public and private work. The estate was established by King Edward III in 1337 as a way to provide the heir to the throne with funding, and William is the 25th Duke of Cornwall after his father who held the role for seven decades.

Despite being called the Duchy of Cornwall, the Duchy estate actually covers more than 50,000 hectares of land across 20 counties. The Duke of Cornwall collects all the net profits from the estate which have amounted to around £20 million per year in recent years. This money is not generally considered to be public money in the way that the Sovereign Grant is. However, anti-monarchists have made the point that if there was no Duke of Cornwall, the money would make its way into the public purse.

Last November, Prince William made a solo visit to Cornwall in recognition of his new position. He has spent the past few years learning about the Duchy as he grew closer to taking it on. In 2019, the Telegraph reported that he said about the responsibility, “My grandfather has done it one way, my father has done it another way and I’ll probably do a little bit of both.”

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