Media: Prince William collects £2.5m from renting out a prison closed due to radon gas
The Duchy of Cornwall receives a large amount of public income from the rent of an unused prison, raising criticism of asset management and calls for parliamentary transparency
Prince William has cashed in at least £2.5 million - €2.87 million at today's exchange rate - of public money through the Duchy of Cornwall, the vast estate that guarantees a private income for the heir to the throne, thanks to the rent of the English prison of Dartmoor to the Ministry of Justice, despite the fact that the prison has been emptied for over a year due to dangerous levels of radon gas.
This was revealed by a joint journalistic investigation by the Sunday Times and the Channel 4 Dispatches, after the so-called 'Duchy Files', documents relating to multimillion-pound revenues generated through lease agreements between public institutions, including hospitals and schools, and the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster, run by King Charles III through his representatives, had previously emerged.
An affair, known in its entirety for a few years, but that with the new details further fuels the demands for transparency coming from Parliament with regard to the management of the royal family's large fortunes, even more so at a time of crisis in the monarchy's popularity due to the scandal of the former prince Andrew, who is inseparably linked with the late American paedophile and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The duchy referring to the heir to the throne stated that 'the lease reflects established agreements and was negotiated on a standard commercial basis' and that it was 'actively engaged in discussions with the Ministry of Justice to find a fair and sustainable solution'.
But therepresentatives of William refused to indicate the exact amount of taxes paid with respect to the prison rental income.
