Very interesting about his finances:
From The Observer, 30 January 2005:
The prince of property and his £460m business empire
MPs are to probe the complex financial affairs of the Duchy of Cornwall that let Charles sell his own trees to himself and pocket the cash
Any fan of the royal family driving past the Punchbowl industrial park in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, is unlikely to think twice about the grey warehouses Yet this drab piece of commercial real estate now has its own blue blood connections.
The large Wickes distribution depot at one corner of Punchbowl may be a far cry from the grand surroundings of Highgrove, the rolling hills of Dartmoor or the 'idyllic' Poundbury village in Dorchester. But like all these chunks of valuable real estate, the Wickes warehouse is now proudly owned by Prince Charles.
An Observer investigation has revealed that the heir to the throne is reaping record returns from property acquisitions channelled through the Duchy of Cornwall, Charles's 700-year-old estate given to him by his mother in 1969 as a 21st birthday present.
Next week the Duchy of Cornwall's finances will for the first time come under independent public scrutiny. On Monday 7 February, the powerful House of Commons Public Accounts Committee will begin calling witnesses as they probe the inner workings of the opaque Duchy accounts. As our analysis shows, MPs on the committee will have plenty to quiz the royal accountants about.
Unlike the Queen, who is paid through the Civil List, Charles gains his money through the duchy. Last year his estate awarded him an income of almost £12 million - a 20 per cent rise on the previous year. An analysis of the duchy's historic accounts reveals that since 1993, when the Prince of Wales was paid £2.9m, he has enjoyed a 300 per cent pay rise. This is equivalent to more than 25 per cent a year during a period when average earnings rose by 5 per cent a year.
In large part, Charles' soaring pay has come from the transformation of the duchy into a huge commercial enterprise. It still owns vast tracts of land, including 70,000 acres in Devon, 18,000 acres in Cornwall, 15,000 acres in Somerset and practically all of the Isles of Scilly. He still also owns landmark properties such as the Oval cricket ground in London.
But Charles has also been collecting office blocks, retail outlets and a string of businesses in a series of astute transactions which belie the commonly held belief that Charles is little more than a do-gooder who talks to plants.
The most important plants to him are those he sells through the Duchy Nursery, along with premium-priced organic biscuits, jams and sausages through the company Duchy Originals. The entire operation is now valued at £463m, although financial analysts believe this is a substantial underestimate. Yet despite its lucrative business dealings, the duchy, because of its royal heritage, is exempt from corporation tax and capital gains tax.
A quick analysis of its operations reveals this tax break to have been hugely valuable to the Prince and is estimated to have saved him a tax bill of some £20m over the past decade. But it is this tax exemption that threatens to be the latest embarrassment for the royal family. At the top of the agenda for the Commons inquiry is whether this multi-million-pound tax break gives value for money.
Snaking through the Tamar valley in north Cornwall are the 130-acre Greenscombe Woods owned by the Duchy of Cornwall for centuries. Its canopy is not full of traditional oaks; instead, the valley's southern slopes are clothed in tall Douglas firs, Western red cedars and Leyland spruces, grown as part of the duchy's timber business.
But it is not just the trees that make Greenscombe distinct. Its uniqueness derives from a peculiar financial transaction that occurred six years ago when Charles was in need of cash after his expensive divorce settlement.
The Prince of Wales cannot, by law, sell any part of the duchy estate. Yet in a creative accounting ruse that would make many in the City proud, Charles claimed he owned the trees personally, not the duchy. This allowed him to sell thousands of trees growing on duchy land back to the duchy and earn £2.3m in cash. In effect, he sold the trees to himself and pocketed the proceeds.
'This is certainly one transaction we will want to investigate thoroughly,' said Labour MP Alan Williams, who sits on the public accounts committee. 'We need to be confident that Prince Charles is not abusing taxpayers' money in any way.' Duchy officials say that Charles was the driving force for developing the woodland and used his income to maintain the trees. They claim that he would only have benefited from the trees when they were felled and then sold for timber.
Another controversial area that the Commons inquiry is likely to examine is the cost of funding the office of his partner, Camilla Parker Bowles. Last year's duchy accounts revealed for the first time she was an official member of the household. It stated: 'Income from the Duchy of Cornwall is used to meet personal expenditure for the Prince of Wales, Princes William and Harry, and some personal costs of Mrs Parker Bowles.'
It is understood that Charles provides her with two part-time secretaries, a driver and a gardener for her Wiltshire home. The Prince also pays for her bodyguards, travel, jewellery, clothes, an adviser and stabling for her horses. She also now has an office at Clarence House.
One former senior palace official told The Observer that the Duchy of Cornwall is being driven by Charles's need to make more money. 'He has growing sons, a more visible high-profile partner and professional passions that need ever-increasing amounts of money.'
Last summer Sir Michael Peat, Charles's private secretary, published a review that was meant to show that Charles led a simple life. They showed that Charles was a major benefactor to charity and worked hard to fulfil his public duties. But they also revealed his lifestyle is far from frugal.
His jump in salary let him increase the staff from 91 to 113. His 28 personal staff include secretaries, a chef, grooms, valets, gardeners, estate workers and domestic staff. Much of his lifestyle costs are written off against tax. In 2003 it emerged he wanted polo bills listed as a business expense. The review said Charles only owned one car, yet failed to mention he leases a fleet of luxury vehicles. At the time Peat said: 'The Prince of Wales ... is exceptionally hard-working and gives the majority of private money to fund his duties and official work.' The Commons committee will be testing that assertion.
Charles en CamillaFoto: APCamilla Parker-Bowles vervult geen enkele officiële functie en mag daarom niet profiteren van de fondsen van Cornwall. De inkomsten van het hertogdom zijn bedoeld voor het levensonderhoud van prins Charles en zijn twee zonen William en Harry en zijn vrijgesteld van allerlei belastingen.
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