Several weekends ago, the Sunday Times reported that Prince Harry and Prince William were planning to separate their joint Kensington Palace office in the months to come. Harry and William have had a joint office since they reached adulthood, basically. The KP office started when both princes were in their early 20s, but their office really gained a large, dedicated staff around the time of William’s engagement to Kate, so roughly eight years ago. In those eight years, the KP office has mostly focused on William’s needs, at the expense of Harry’s work. They’ve needed to separate their office for years, is my point. I even said, months ago, that I hoped that Meghan’s entrance would mean that the Sussexes would get a separate office. Well, that’s the plan. Vanity Fair did a piece on the evolution of this issue, the “separate offices” issue, and I find all the speculation very interesting. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
The separation won’t happen until next year: Harry and William already have their own private secretaries and are mapping out separate goals for the future, although a final decision about how their households will operate is unlikely to be made until after Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby is born. Sources say the princes will have separate staff and offices, but there will still be a close communication between the two.
When did this first come up? Royal author and Prince Charles biographer Sally Bedell Smith believes the idea of a change was first floated on the eve of Harry’s wedding to Meghan. “I had heard that a division might be in the cards, and that it had a lot to do with Meghan—not in a negative way, but that Meghan and Harry’s interests were moving in different directions [from William and Kate’s]. This is a recognition that their roles are going to diverge in the future. William is heir to the throne and second in line to the crown. Harry is sixth, and is going to slip further down. It’s sad to see the team break up, but I think this was always inevitable and probably makes sense. The Fab Four was a nice construction, but they will only appear as a foursome from time to time….It was always an anomaly for Harry and William to be so close. When you look at Charles and his siblings, there was never that closeness. Because of Charles’s status as heir, he has inevitably been in a separate category, and now I think the same will be the case for William. His life is moving along a different path from Harry’s.”
The Sussexes will be moving next to the Cambridges? Though their households may run separately, William and Harry will not be far apart. The Sussexes are rumored to be moving in next door to William and Kate, with Apartment 1—next door to the Cambridges at Kensington Palace—undergoing extensive renovations. It is expected that Harry and Meghan will move into the 21-room apartment ahead of the birth of their baby next spring.
William is being groomed to take over more of Charles’ work: William is also being prepared to take on the Duchy of Cornwall from his father when Charles becomes king and William becomes Prince of Wales. William has regular meetings with his father and his grandmother to talk about the future and the important role he will play as heir.
Something I’ve always thought was telling – and lame – was that Charles apparently wanted Harry or William to begin taking over The Prince’s Trust (Charles’ signature foundation), but both princes declined. It seems that William is eager enough to begin taking over the Duchy of Cornwall though, because that’s where the money is – the Duchy of Cornwall is the lucrative business which includes huge swaths of real estate, working farms and businesses. Charles even developed his organic food line attached to the Duchy too. William can’t wait to get his hands on all that money.
As for the separation of Will and Harry’s office… as I said, it was a long time coming, and honestly, they should have separated their offices years ago. It will be very interesting to see how much or how little “coordination” there is between the offices in the years to come though. I imagine that the Cambridges will do the most to pull focus from the Sussexes, but if Harry or Meghan even dare to step on one of Cambridge’s news cycles, there will be a massive Cambridge tantrum.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.
William was always going to take over the Duchy of Cornwall when he becomes Prince of Wales, but yeah he’ll be ‘keen’ to get his hands on the money (considering how tight he is with his own money) – the source of the private funds that pays for his and his family’s lifestyle. I hope he doesn’t do a Duke of Windsor and siphon money off into his private funds.
He will. They all do.
The Queen doesn’t even have to tell the tax office how much she owns or earns. Her accounts are all secret and as far as I know nobody knows how the Queen invests her money.
The Queen does pay income tax on her private income voluntarily. But as nobody knows – not even the tax authorities – how much the Queen’s private income amounts to … well nobody knows if the Queen really pays all those income taxes she claims she pays.
I don’t think it really matters what William does with that money but I hope he runs the estate as well as his father has. Through all of his faults, Charles has been dedicated to real positive change.
It also leaves me worried for the future of the Princes trust. I can understand William not wanting to take it on but I don’t understand why Harry wouldn’t. It makes a huge difference to so many lives. It’s also a lot of work and perhaps that’s the reason. I don’t believe William or Harry have the work ethic of their father. William is always going to have attention on him since he will eventually become King. I suspect Harry on the other hand will gradually fade into the background as Williams kids get older and he will probably get away with doing much less.
It does matter as it affects people who live and work on the land.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Cornwall
Chuck has done a lot to make it profitable as well as self managing and sustainable. Charles will be a good King.
If William runs the estate well, which is what Roux stated, then the Duchy will continue to generate revenue and the people supported by the Duchy of Cornwall will be taken care of. William will also get income from the Duchy and it is William’s discretion as to what he does with his cut.
Harry isn’t the future Prince of Wales, and the Prince’s Trust is the Prince of Wales Trust complete with POW feathers as the emblem. It is William’s job and responsibility to take it over, not Harry’s.
Does that then mean The Sussexes will become The Cambridges when the Cambridges become The Waleses?
No the Sussex’s will keep their titles – not sure if the Duke of Cambridge title will pass to George, it should but not sure.
The Sussexes will become the Yorks (*shudder* at the Pedo-Andy reference, but 2nd brother is the “spare”). The Wessexes are further down the line (3rd brother). Poor Anne didn’t even figure into the lineup.
@jan90067
The Sussexes will only become Duke and Duchess of York when Andrew dies. So it’s more likely they’ll get some sort of “placeholder” title in the meantime: Earl of something or other probably.
They may be Sussex forever. If Andrew lives long enough then Duke of York will simply be given to Louis
There’s also speculation that Edward will inherit the title Duke of Edinburgh after Philip passes. I’m not sure if that theory is predicated on Philip passing away before the Queen though. Charles is very determined to have a streamlined Royal Family, so he might not give Edward the title if it’s up to him.
Harry and Meghan are permanently the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, barring any remote huge tragedy that would cause them to move up to Prince/Princess of Wales. They will not become the Duke or Duchess of York; that stays with Andrew until his death then reverts back to the Crown, whereby a future monarch can then bestow it on another royal son. Prince Louis is a likely candidate for this, decades from now.
George will remain Prince George of Cambridge until his father is made POW, whereby he will become Prince George of Wales (same with his siblings). In actuality he will also become George of Cornwall when the Queen dies, as William automatically inherits that title at that moment. But – I don’t think they’ll go by that title since it will only be a short time imo before Charles invests William as POW.
ETA: @ va va K, Charles could choose to deny Edward the Edinburgh dukedom when Philip goes, if he was monarch when this happens. However its unlikely as it’s already been publicly promised, and would look terribly spiteful from the King. Not a good look or good pr.
No – the Sussexes stay as they are. Harry is now well down the line of succession, these steps up impact the direct heirs: Charles, William, and eventually, George.
All Dukes of Cornwall use the funds from the Duchy for their personal use and wealth accumulation. The Duke of Windsor did nothing wrong when he “siphoned” off money from the Duchy. The shady thing that he did was to claim that he did not have any money to support himself when he actually did a significant amount of money saved up.
I don’t understand why there always has to be an ulterior motive.
Hello? By succession the Duchy of Cornwall is his as it is tied to the title of Prince of Wales which he is also heir to as future king. Non issue.
I wonder where harry will get his money from when he works on behalf of king Charles
The Monarch has separate fund called the Sovereign Grant – much of those funds come from the Crown Estate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Grant_Act_2011
From Charles, just like Anne, Edward and Sophie get theirs from the Queen.
The monarch gets the Duchy of Lancaster for their private income. Charles will give Harry money through that when he is King.
Harry was, is and will be supported by Charles. The only change will be that once Charles ascends, his funding will no longer be from the Duchy of Cornwall but from the Duchy of Lancaster and the Sovereign Grant.
POLDAAAAARRRRK!
I agree that they’ve needed separate offices for quite some time now and am glad to see that it’s finally happening. I watched documentary about Charles last night and it really got me thinking about what will happen with the Princes Trust once he’s King or once he passes. The Princes Trust has done so much good for so many it would be a great loss to see it fall by the way side. Personally I think it would be great for Harry to take it over, he has the right empathy and sensitivities to continue and expand on it’s great works. And William saying how he wants to do things his own way gave me the shivers. While I understand what he’s saying and I don’t know if he has it in him to really make a difference. Can anyone tell me what inventive he’s started? Harry has Sentebale and Invictus Games, Kate has Heads Together, but I can’t think of anything William’s started.
Lastly, William’s crack about OCD was really out of line. He goes around talking about ending the stigma around mental health issues, telling others to talk about their troubles and then makes a joke about a serious issue. This type of stuff is what makes me nervous about him going forward.
“William’s crack about OCD was really out of line”
Seriously true.
William has not started anything but his “thing” is conservation.
Did William get his jawbone shaved down to make his face look slimmer?
The Duchy of Cornwall belongs to the taxpayer but the incumbent Crown Prince aka the Duke of Cornwall is allowed to suck out some of its profits. Hence Prince Charles is financed by the taxpayer.
William is known for not finishing this agricultural course at the “ivy league” equivalent British university of ??? Cambridge? Oxford? Though that course had been custom tailored to his “needs” as future head of the Duchy. That means the university did put together a good course specially for him and did get him some decent teachers and tutors specially for him and the princely head just couldn’t muster up any kind of interest which is why he “dropped” out or even got kicked.
So I guess it has been a dreary teary problem to get the Duke of Cambridge interested in agricultural matters aka the Duchy of Cornwall. It means he isn’t interested in that agricultural venue whose profits will pay for his expenses once he becomes Duke of Cornwall. You have to be quite thick both cognitively and psychologically in order to have no interest in your future income.
Same as the dreary problem of getting the Duke of Cambridge interested in any kind of royal matters and duties at all.
The Duchy of Cornwall doesn’t belong to the taxpayer. It’s an entailed crown estate. All that means is that the person who inherits it has limited ability to sell or divide the estate as legally it has to pass intact to the next heir. The person who inherits is more like a care taker for their lifetime, but they still own it. The fact that they don’t have to pay tax on what is essentially private income is the problem. The little Charles and the Queen do pay is entirely voluntary. If it wasn’t private income then they wouldn’t pay tax at all and the government would have control over it.
No, the Duchy of Cornwall was created to fund the instrument of government. When the royals are thrown out, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall remain the property of the people – not the Windsors.
“Did William get his jawbone shaved down to make his face look slimmer?”
Lol, yes he does look ‘different’ – what has he had done to ‘freshen’ his looks?
He’s been attending the twice-a-year meetings for a couple years now. It’s a smart move, learn how things are fun before it is handed over to him. The Duchy of Cornwall will be William’s responsibility as heir and it makes sense he is taking the time to do properly ahead of time.
Geez the shade for the Cambridges is REAL and seems uncalled for
But how else will this site make H&M look like saints?!
I like them both but the constant shade towards the W&K is just really unnecessary, neither pair is perfect and I am sure that they do not feel this animosity towards each other nor do I believe there are these sinister intentions. We don’t have to drag W&K to uplift H&M… we just don’t.
I know right? “Showing off her highlights” on Kate.. Was she supposed to wear a scarf to not show off her highlitghts?
The shade for the Cambridges and their lack of work ethic has been on here for 7 years, long before Harry and Meghan..
William is really stepping up to his role, slowly and surely. I think Charles is definitely grooming him but he shows promise. Re:Harry and him, I think he will look out for his baby brother, always. Just a feeling,
“Re:Harry and him, I think he will look out for his baby brother, always. Just a feeling”
I have the same feeling
I just don’t see how people are going to feel connected to William as the Prince of Wales and future king. He’s uncharismatic, seems grumpy towards the press, clearly dislikes royal work, and and is too daft to come up with any groundbreaking initiatives or charities of his own.
Charles has not always been popular, but at least he has done his share of the work, come up with his own initiatives and founded the Prince’s Trust. He’s evidently a competent and intelligent man, and I think quite a lot of people respect him for that, even though they disliked some of his behavior in the past.
Why would anyone want to curtsey to William and his wife? It just beats me.
Huh? William and Harry are the most popular royals in the UK. Charles has had to work very hard at his PR. The loonies at DM- representing a large swathe of opinion in the country- are always clamouring for Wills to take over.
People feel more connected to Work-Shy William than Diligent Charles.
I totally agree with you, Emma, but the other commenters are also correct – Charles isn’t as popular, which boggles the mind. He has done so many good things. Perhaps the people actually want a monarch who sits back and doesn’t get involved, unlike Charles who went out and got stuff done whether it was popular at the time or not.
Would William’s Duchy takeover how much money is given to Harry and Meghan? I thought Meghan’s wardrobe comes out of that fund?
At the moment both Princes and their spouses are funded by Chuck and the Duchy. When Chuck becomes King, the DoLittles get access to the Duchy of Cornwall funds and the Sussex’s will be part of the Kings household meaning they will be funded from the Sovereign Grant (this is how it works at the moment with TQ’s other children).
As heartless as it may initally appear, I do hope the Prince’s Trust dies out. All those royal charities are, though well-meaning, utterly detrimental to the issues they’re supposed to address.
The RF is apolitical by design so they depoliticize everything they touch. “Thanks” to the Prince’s Trust, disadvantaged youths and their issues (first and foremost education and employment) have become a matter of charity in the UK, not policy, allowing politicians to abandon the whole thing almost entirely, fully free to embrace the discourse of the “deserving” poor (who’ve earned charitable support) and the “undeserving” ones (who get ignored and derided). It’s so profoundly Victorian, it’s almost comical. Same thing for the Invictus Games: what wounded veterans need is decent healthcare, psychological support (for many), help reintegrating the workforce and housing (for some). But hey, instead of talking about that, let’s just call them “heroes” ad nauseam and have them swim a few lengths… Because it raises awareness or something. Same thing for Heads Together and so on and so forth.
Very well said
Although I agree with your point about charities covering where government has failed, it’s an issue that encompasses the whole third sector, not just royal charities.
I can’t see The Prince’s Trust closing – it’s been running over 40 years and has expanded to commonwealth countries – it’s now set up with ‘The Prince’s Trust’ as the UK charitable organisation, and ‘The Prince’s Trust Canada / Australia /etc’ all operating in their own regions under the umbrella of The Prince’s Trust Group, run by Dame Martina Millburn (who previously ran the Trust in the UK).
As the international charities are continuing to set up and grow under umbrella group I can’t imagine they don’t have a contingency plan for when Charles inherits – it just wouldn’t make sense to increase the scope of the organisation and take the risks is expansion abroad if there wasn’t a succession plan somewhere behind the scenes.
I’m going to keep my eye out for which of the various prince’s starts showing up at PT events with Charles – that’ll be the signifier!
You’re right, it’s a global issue and isn’t limited to royal charities. Though I’d point out that it’s not just charities covering where governments have failed, it’s charities making it possible for governments to keep failing again and again. Charities don’t just pick up the slack, they enable a vicious process of political disinvestment because it feeds their raison d’être. The ultimate goal of any charity should be no longer to exist, either because it solved the problem it was created to address or because a bigger, richer, more stable entity (cf. the State) has taken over its duties.
I singled the RF’s charities out because, over the past 50 or so years, the RF has reinvented itself as a charity powerhouse. In an attempt to defuse any accusation of uselessness, they’ve invested the realm of charitable endeavors in an attempt to prove themselves “hard working” (waving and smiling is apparently hard work) and needed. The irony being that, by doing so, they’ve graduated from utterly useless to actually detrimental.
I have to disagree Mia, the Princes Trust was set up to help people without money to set up in business. If you have a great idea but don’t have access to money (remortgage or family etc) you can get a grant from the PT. This is how how Jo Malone was able to set up her perfume business. No matter how good a state education system it won’t provide working capital to young entrepreneurs.
The Prince’s Trust was set up to, as its mission statement asserts, “empower young people to get into jobs, education and training”. It mostly deals in “confidence bulding” courses and practical support in joining the workforce (teaching people how to write a good CV or how to behave in job interviews…). Directly financing young entrepreneurs, mostly through low-interest loans (only up to £5,000 at 6.2 APR), is a minor part of its activities.
As for a good state education not providing working capital, you’re right. What a state does to help its young get started in business is give grants or legislate so that banks have to offer low-interest finance and loans to all young entrepreneurs with a viable project. Not just those a charity deemed worthy.
A 21room place is definitely not an “apartment”. geez.
I hope that William doesn’t make the Duchy fail LOL He doesn’t seem to me very good at these things.
They have financial experts, or investors for that kind of thing. As long as he hires good people, it will be fine.
Thousands of people derive their income from the Duchy so William has an obligation not to fail.
I think it would be in the Sussexes best interest to hire a financial expert and use any inheritance that Harry has or any money that Meghan herself may have and invest smartly so that they don’t have to rely on the sovereign grant in the future (which I do believe is from the taxpayers?). I have no doubt that William loves his brother and would support him if he can, but I honestly don’t think he will give Harry that much from the Duchy (assuming that he will give him an allowance) and when his kids start to grow up, more of the money from the Duchy will go to his kids and less to Harry and his family. I think it would be in Harry and Meghan’s best interest to find a way to somehow be financially independent. They need to figure this out ASAP.
Once Charles is King, Harry will be provided for by the Sovereign’s Grant, not the Duchy of Cornwall. Once William becomes king, yes Harry will be William’s “responsibility” but by then Harry will have almost certainly inherited money from his grandmother and father, who have private funds as well. I doubt Harry will ever be hurting for cash or reliant on william’s charity.
I do see your point, but the inheritance can only last for so long. There does need to be some source of steady income (IMO). The sovereign grant is tax funded (is that correct?) and the criticism of how much tax payer money is going towards them will only increase after William takes over the Duchy. It’s just something I think would serve them well in the future. Plus there is no guarantee that the monarchy will survive after the Queen passes away (unfortunate but it will occur at some point) and people may not be interested in funding them, but if they have something of their own separate from the sovereign grant that they can rely on for income I just think it will help them better in the future.
Of course it will be smart for Harry and Meghan to get competent financial advisors and wisely invest their money but they are not going to get wealthy off the income from their current wealth nor their Sovereign Grant wages. It is the largesse of Charles and eventually his bequests that will be the primary source of Harry and Meghan’s wealth.
I only hope they figure something out.
It’s about time that William showed some interest in the Duchy of Cornwall. Once Charles becomes King, William will be expected to step up very quickly and take it over. Learning about it now can only be beneficial to him.
Re the Princes Trust, I read somewhere that Charles’ cousin, David Linley, is going to be taking it on. Not sure if it’s true, though.
The Cambridge’s will soon be rolling in titles, castles and cash 💷 ! Whew! It was worth the wait.
The monarchy in my opinion seems dark once The Queen goes.
I am sure by now even Charles doesn’t expect Will to work hard on the Dutchy. Sure he is being groomed to know what goes on but all will be in place when time comes. There will be advisors and staff to work for the Dutchy. Will doesn’t have it in him to work as his father has done it seems. He likes the money though so he will stay put as long as the money keeps flowing.
Harry will have his life founded by his father and then by his brother not only out of love but optics too. I have read here and other places that he gets to inherit a little bit more money than his brother because he will not be kind eventually. Plus I am sure his money has been and will be invested wisely for years to come. We have to remember that ALL their expenses are paid for. He will never hurt for housing, benefits, health care etc. His children will have a good life to thanks to their parents money if more. These guys are secured for life so don’t you worry. I on the other hand have to think of my housing accommodation in the near future. I need to invest my egg nest and beg the bank to help me and I am not even sure if I will qualify for a loan. See the difference: me=normal life, them=rich privileged folks with dreams of normalcy.
Why is Harry 6th and slipping? Do they know for certain William will have more kids?
Both Wills & Harry inherited a nice tidy sum from Diana, then the Queen Mother. No doubt Qu7een Elizabeth II has things set aside for both of them as well.
In turn, Wills & Harry’s kids will inherit cash, property, etc. along with whatever Trust they already have set up for the 3 Cambridges, and once Baby Sussex is born, they too will have the same.
Unless the children turn out to be complete drunk gamblers, none of them have any reason to worry about money in the future, even if England gets rid of the Monarchy.
There is zero need to worry about Harry. And yes, both him & his wife will move further down the line once & if Wills is King, as they will only be brother to the King & the King’s children will outrank H&M. But they will be more than fine even if Wills never gives them a cent & somehow cuts them off everything. Which will not happen as despite everything Wills & Harry do love each other as brothers and are very close unlike Charles & his siblings.
As for the Duchy, again, unless Wills hires complete failures, it will be managed and looked after by stewards, and accountants etc. so there should huge mishaps, maybe minor ones as the market goes through its cycles.
The combined office worked fine, this is happening now because Charles is taking on more for QEII, which means Wills has to shift gears. Even if Harry hadn’t gotten married, this would have happened I suspect as their roles changed and grew.
I’m not sure why it’s such a bad thing for W&K to be getting more publicity over H&M, since they are the ones who will be King & Queen if the Royals are around in the future. I understand that W&K have coasted along not doing a lot, but it’s a bit weird that ppl seem offended that H&M somehow should never be eclipsed by anything or anyone, especially W&K.
I truly don’t see the four being in competition with each other at all. They all know what their roles are within the Monarchy, why are they always being pitted against each other when it’s clear that they all seem to get along very well?
With H&M having a baby, I think both Wills & Harry want their kids to grow up together as they did with their cousins.
It’s weird that ppl are always manufacturing drama between them based on how much they like one couple over the other.
SpilldatT – Yes!! You keep expressing what I’m thinking but so much more eloquently.