Prince William apologises to Duchy tenants over Bradninch estate sale
Prince William has apologised to tenants after a strong backlash over the planned sale of the Bradninch Estate in Devon, the Observer reported.
The estate is a 3,000-acre holding in Devon. Hello magazine reported in late October that William had announced plans to sell it.
The land belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, a landholding that exists to provide income for the Duke of Cornwall. William holds that title, so the Duchy's rents, farms and property sales form part of his finances. Its tenants are people who rent homes or land from the estate.
The Duchy of Cornwall has also apologised for the way it handled the sale. A Duchy apology is a formal acknowledgement that the process fell short, not a reversal of the decision itself. The Duchy has said it will carry out new valuations connected with the sale. A valuation is a professional estimate of what a property is worth, and it is usually the first step in setting a fair price.
The Duchy publishes annual accounts, which set out its income, its property holdings and how its profits are used. Those accounts are the main public record of its finances, and they are where any sale proceeds would show up in future years.
Tenants have been the most vocal group since the plans became public. The Duchy's apology is the first public response from the estate to that reaction, and it does not set out a timetable for the valuations or a final sale price.
