Back in March, Prince William unveiled some big new plans for the Duchy of Cornwall, the vast real estate empire he inherited as Prince of Wales. His big plan was that he would begin liquidating some real estate assets in the duchy’s portfolio, and then use that money to fund his various keen projects like “mental health” and “homelessness.” The problem? One tract of duchy land being sold is the Bradninch Estate, which is mostly full of poor tenant farmers who could never afford to buy a farm outright. William’s big scheme was criticized when he announced it, but now the Observer has a lengthy piece with quotes from the tenants who are being evicted. There are also quotes from someone close to King Charles.

Eviction notices: The Prince of Wales is selling off the Bradninch estate to raise money for other priorities including tackling homelessness and climate change. Last month, eviction notices – described as possession orders – landed on tenants’ doormats. Farmers and renters, who thought they would be able to stay in their properties for life, have been given six months to either buy their home or leave. The local impact has been devastating. Couples with young children, who have no hope of raising the money for a deposit, fear they will soon be homeless. Older people, who have a lifetime of memories in Bradninch, are horrified by the thought of leaving the security of the house they know. For some of the tenant farmers the situation is even worse. They face losing their business as well as their home. Parts of the estate have been farmed by the same family for five generations. Tenants who had hoped their children would one day care for the land that they took over from their parents are struggling to work out how they can afford to buy a holding valued at millions of pounds.

A sense of betrayal: Many in Bradninch are staunch royalists and there is a sense of betrayal that the heir to throne – part of a family that they thought represented continuity in a changing world – appears to have so carelessly cast aside the estate and its residents. Local people are even being forced to raise money to purchase the community assets – the football pitch, allotments and wetlands – from the billionaire prince. The Duchy originally demanded over £100,000 but has now dropped the price to a quarter of that.

A community in ruins: “Everyone is in shock,” says Mary Ryan, a former GP and palliative care consultant who has lived in Bradninch for 36 years and is supporting the tenants. “It’s pitting neighbour against neighbour and dividing the community. People are grief-stricken and frightened.” Ryan is now involved in mental health research, including suicide prevention. “People draw attention to the irony of Prince William talking about his concern for mental health and for homelessness while at the same time very badly affecting the mental health of people who live and work here and potentially making families homeless,” she says. “To many people it feels as if he cares more about the urban poor than the rural poor. It’s hypocrisy. The Duchy is lucky that people haven’t taken their own lives as a result of this episode because it has been handled so badly.”

Is it William’s land to sell? Her husband, John Palmer, a retired surgeon, says there is a sense of “abandonment” by the heir to the throne. “One farmer said to me, ‘You know, I’m a tenant farmer for a reason – I can’t afford to buy a farm.’ Farmers don’t make a huge amount of money and they would have difficulty servicing what would be a considerable loan.” He said there were questions about whether the land was even William’s to sell. “I honestly feel that he’s a custodian rather than an owner.”

What the tenants have received from the duchy: A few weeks before the sale was announced, farmers and residents all received a post card “printed by hand on a vintage treadle press” offering the services of a “Duchy Tenant Support and Wellbeing Service”. There was a phone number and a QR code next to the Duchy of Cornwall crest. One distressed tenant who rang the helpline claims they were told to go to Citizens Advice, while another says they were advised to ask their GP for anti-depressants.

William can go to hell: To make matters worse, farmers who have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in their holdings now find themselves being asked to pay more to buy their home because the improvements have increased the value of the property. Tenants believe this amounts to “double-charging”, which would be illegal for residential homes under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, although the rules are different for farms. They say efforts to discuss their concerns or negotiate with the Duchy have been rebuffed. “Tenants are being told ‘take it or leave it’,” according to one local. “I’ve been a royalist all my life and I think Charles was fantastic. William can go to hell. If he was on fire I wouldn’t pour water on it.”

The craven prince: Bradninch is not the kind of place where people would ever riot but there are small, dignified acts of resistance under way. Local residents are boycotting Duchy Original biscuits. One relative mounted a protest in Waitrose, telling shoppers in the Duchy aisle: “Do you know what is happening to the Duchy tenants in Devon?” A new version of the national anthem – “God help our craven prince” – is doing the rounds.

How King Charles feels: The King is said to be dismayed by the sale of the Bradninch estate. “It’s absolutely not what the King would ever have done,” one friend of the monarch says. “The King adores William, he recognises that he must be the Prince of Wales that he wants to be but that doesn’t mean he’s not sad. The only hope is that William begins to see that this is not what his father has believed in for 50 years, which is that you’ve got to try and hold rural communities together because they are the backbone of Britain.” Charles visited Bradninch regularly as Prince of Wales. He knew many of the tenants by name, wrote personal letters when somebody died and sent generous Christmas presents – a book wrapped in a velvet bag, a piece of pottery or a hand-carved wooden door stopper. Sometimes, he joined the tenants’ shoot, known locally as the “Bradninch Rabbit Clearance Society”, always staying for tea or a glass of whisky with the farmers.

William is too lazy to care: By contrast, William has never visited Bradninch to meet the tenants. There was no contact or support from the Duchy during one of the harshest summers Devon farmers have ever experienced this year, when the heatwave was compounded by the outbreak of bluetongue disease that affects livestock. The only time the tenants have seen William was at a distance when they were invited to a reception at St James’s Palace to celebrate the handover of the Duchy of Cornwall from the King to the new Prince of Wales. “King Charles worked the room, he remembered us all. He was very emotional, he was in tears at one point,” says one of those who was there. “William walked in and straight up to the stage, they did their handover then he walked out.”

[From The Observer]

I’m pretty sure William and Kate are on vacation with their children right now, but I hope someone on his staff shows this article to him when he gets back two weeks from now or whatever. Because… my god. This is so typical of William as well – blundering, stupid, poorly considered, poorly researched, cruel, uncaring. His hypocrisy of “being keen about mental health and homelessness” while evicting poor tenant farmers and setting up a useless helpline. Slumlord Willy rides again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace’s Instagram.