Prince William renounces feudal privileges in his duchy created in 1337
Tenants will now be able to acquire full ownership of their homes
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Key points
1' min read
Prince William has agreed to put an end to the last feudal privileges in parts of his Duchy of Cornwall, created back in 1337, after decades of protests by residents and after a newspaper investigation in recent weeks had revealed the millions generated by the heir to the throne's and his father King Charles III's vast estate fund, represented by the Duchy of Lancaster.
As reported in the Guardian online, tenants in the residential areas on the prince's estates, something like 55,000 hectares, were finally granted the right to acquire full ownership of their homes for the first time, moving to the so-called 'freehold'.
How to switch from leasehold to freehold
At present, there is the 'leasehold', a typically English form of ownership involving the purchase, mostly of flats, for a limited period of time, on the basis of a contract with the 'landlord', the owner, in this case the heir to the throne.
The change was made possible by the introduction of a new law, the leasehold and freehold reform act, although the prince is currently allowed to retain his privileges over residential areas in the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off Cornwall.
It remains to be seen whether or not it will be prohibitively expensive for residents to switch to the 'freehold' regime established by the Duchy.
