Since Charles III acceded to the British throne on September 8, 2022, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, he has tried to change the traditional structure on which royalty was based. First he refused to live in London's Buckingham Palace because he did not consider it "fit" for the modern world; then, he reduced the pomposity of the coronation and tried to make it as little as similar to that of his mother; now, Charles III goes a step further and wants to reduce the expenses of the monarchy as much as possible. The solution? Dispense with one of your current properties located in Wales, Llwynywermod.
The farm, located in Carmarthenshire (west of Wales, just over 100 kilometers from Cardiff, its capital), has been the official residence of the monarch every time he has visited the country as Prince of Wales, the main title held by the heir to the British throne and by which he is popularly known. But now that he no longer holds the title and, therefore, cedes the agenda associated with that name to his eldest son and heir, Prince William, this property will be practically unused. Charles acquired in 2007 the 70 hectares of Llwynywermod, valued at 1.2 million pounds sterling (about 1.4 million euros), through the Duchy of Cornwall, whose main activity is the administration of the lands and properties of the heir to the throne. During his adulthood Llwynywermod has undoubtedly been the property on which he has spent the most time, but now, with much more important obligations, he will not be able to reside just on the farm. One night a year, Carlos III and Camila organized a musical and artistic evening during their holidays in the region.
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At the time Queen Elizabeth II died and Charles III took his place as head of the British monarchy, it was Prince William who inherited the Duchy of Cornwall. Therefore, Charles was no longer the owner of the farm, and if he wanted to maintain it, he had to pay rent to his son and to that duchy. This summer Charles has decided not to renew the lease, and now the Prince and Princess of Wales, through their spokesmen, have reported that they will not use the farm when they travel to the country, but will stay in hotels in the area to help and boost the local economy. Therefore, it is already in the hands of the administration of the duchy and they can rent it or get the yield in the way they want, if they wish.
The Duchy of Cornwall, which includes castles, land and farms, generates an annual income of 21 million pounds (24 million euros) that until now have been managed by Charles III in his role as heir to the throne for more than half a century. Since September, he has been in charge of administering the Duchy of Lancaster, which includes the private estate of the British royal family.
Charles III during an event held at Llwynywermod, his estate in Wales, on July 5, 2022.Kirsty O'Connor (PA/Cordon Press)
This is not the first time that the most senior members of the British royal family decide to get rid of properties or take advantage of them for tourist use. The day before Elizabeth II died, it was known that the monarch put for rent, through Airbnb, a plot of Sandringham, one of her favorite residences and that is located in the county of Norfolk, located about 160 kilometers north of London and where she spent the Christmas holidays with her family; in fact, his father, King George VI, died there. But this gardener's house was not the first property rented by the long-lived queen. It also offered eight cabins located in Balmoral (Scotland), the summer residence of the queen and where she died.
It remains to be seen what plans the monarch has for the rest of his properties spread throughout the royal grounds: Highgrove, Birkhall, Clarence House, Sandringham and Balmoral, and even for the most important, such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. One of the ideas is that of renting (in some of them, not in all); Another is to open them to the public and expand access so that "they can pay for themselves and do not involve a real expense", as the spokesmen have continued to explain.