Income and Funding

	£000s
Duchy of Cornwall	22.244

The Prince of Wales’s private income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, an estate comprising agricultural, commercial and residential property mostly in the South West of England. The Duchy also has a financial investment portfolio. His Royal Highness uses the majority of his income from the Duchy to support his public duties and charitable work and those of The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The Duchy of Cornwall’s income is broadly level when compared to last year. Annual accounts for The Duchy of Cornwall can be obtained online at www.duchyofcornwall.org.

	£000s
Sovereign Grant Funding	1.762

The Sovereign Grant funding covers official costs incurred in support of The Queen as Head of State. Travel costs for official engagements vary from year to year depending on the countries Their Royal Highnesses are asked to visit on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government and this year have decreased by £85,000 from £1.326m to £1.241m.

Official costs relating to the London office and official residence have decreased by £147,000 from £0.668m to £0.521m as a rolling programme of refurbishment continues.

More details about the Sovereign Grant are available at www.royal.uk

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Household emissions from energy use have decreased by 16% this year; emissions from official UK and other travel have decreased by 26%. Combined, these result in the decrease in emissions attributable to the Household of 24%.

The total travel emissions figure will vary from year to year depending on the distances Their Royal Highnesses are asked to travel, at the request of Her Majesty’s UK Government or the Government(s) of The Queen’s other Realms. The aim is to minimise these emissions by taking carbon, as well as cost, security and logistics, into account when planning travel.

100% of the electricity used by the Household and 92% of office and domestic energy, as a whole, is now from renewable sources (including renewable electricity and Green Gas). 48% of this is generated on-site by solar panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps. Further details are given in the main Sustainability Report.

The Household buys credits from sustainable projects to offset carbon emissions to net zero.

Expenditure

	£000s
Official duties and charitable work	8.453

Over 49% of The Prince of Wales’s after-tax income from the Duchy of Cornwall was spent on official duties and charitable work. Of the £8.453 million, staff costs accounted for £5.25 million, or 62%.

The Prince of Wales employs directly 132.5 full-time equivalent staff. Of these, 114.6 support Their Royal Highnesses in undertaking official duties and charitable work, and 17.9 are personal, garden and farm staff.

	£000s
Sovereign Grant funding: London office and official residence	0.521

Clarence House is the London office and official residence for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. It is used for official dinners, receptions and meetings, as well as for offices for Their Royal Highnesses’ official staff. The principal rooms, which are on the ground floor of Clarence House, were open to the public from August 2019 until the end of September 2019, however due to Covid restrictions have not opened in 2020. The Household also has offices in other parts of St. James’s Palace. The Sovereign Grant for official residences meets the cost of the maintenance of Clarence House and of the other offices at St. James’s Palace. Their Royal Highnesses do not have direct oversight of the maintenance of the buildings.

	£000s
Sovereign Grant funding: Official travel by air and rail	1.241

An important part of The Prince of Wales’s role as Heir to The Throne, with The Duchess of Cornwall, is to bring people together, to act as a focal point for national life and to represent the country overseas. This involves a significant amount of travel that needs to be undertaken in a way that meets efficiency, security, environmental and presentational requirements. In 2019-20, Their Royal Highnesses travelled over 90,000 miles to and from official engagements in the UK and overseas on behalf of the British Government and other Realms. About half of the miles travelled were overseas. The majority of the costs of the journeys to non-Realm countries, amounting to £1.241 million in 2019-20, were met by the Sovereign Grant. The majority of costs of journeys to Realm countries are met by those countries.

This figure includes the variable costs only for journeys undertaken using The Queen’s Helicopter and the Royal Train. This is because the fixed costs are incurred irrespective of whether the aircraft and train are used and do not result from undertaking specific journeys.

For a full explanation, see the Sovereign Grant Annual Report 2019-20 at www.royal.uk.

	£000s
Tax	4.861

The Prince of Wales pays income tax voluntarily on the surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall after deducting official expenditure for all members of His Royal Highness's family, applying normal income tax rules, and pays tax on all other income including capital gains tax where applicable, as any private individual. Tax of £4.861 million includes VAT. If employer’s National Insurance contributions and Council Tax are included, the total increases to £5.6 million.

	£000s
Non-official expenditure	3.203

In addition to paying for the official duties of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, some charitable work and The Prince’s tax liabilities, the income from the Duchy of Cornwall is used to meet non-official expenditure of The Prince of Wales and his family.

Non-official expenditure covers the salary costs of personal secretaries, chefs and valets, estate, farm, garden and stable staff. Personal expenditure also includes the appropriate share of the cost of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire and Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland.

Staff

As at and for the year to 31 March	Full-time equivalent staff 2020
Principal Private Secretary and Assistant	2.0
Private Secretaries' Office
Private Secretary	0.5
Deputy and Assistant Private Secretaries	4.9
Research and Administrative Staff	15.0
Equerry	1.0
Equerry's Office	3.0
	24.4
Treasurer’s Department
Treasurer and Assistants	2.6
Finance	8.6
Archives and Inventory	5.8
Human Resources	6.0
	23.0
Communications
Communications Secretary and Assistants	3.0
Deputy and Assistant Communications Secretaries	1.6
Communications Officers and Digital Engagement	5.0
Correspondence	5.0
	14.6
Master of the Household’s Department
Master of the Household and Assistants	4.6
Travel Logistics	2.0
Butlers	1.3
Chefs and Kitchen Porters	4.4
Orderlies	5.3
Reception	1.4
Chauffeurs	3.0
House Managers and Housekeeper Staff	8.2
Valets and Dressers	2.5
Gardeners and Estate Workers	17.9
	50.6
Total Official Staff as at 31 March 2020	114.6

 

Offices

The principal office of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, where most of their staff work, is in Clarence House and other parts of St. James’s Palace in central London. The cost of maintaining the fabric of the buildings, as well as a proportion of the costs of utilities and fixed- line telephones, is met from Sovereign Grant funding. There are also offices for official staff at Their Royal Highnesses’ residences of Highgrove and Birkhall to assist The Prince with his continuing work. Some costs incurred at Highgrove and Birkhall are, therefore, charged to the ‘Official duties and charitable work' expenditure category.

 

Staff and Office Organisation

The Principal Private Secretary

The Principal Private Secretary is the senior member of The Prince of Wales’s and The Duchess of Cornwall’s Household and is responsible for all aspects of running the Household and for overseeing His Royal Highness’s charitable and other interests.

The Private Secretaries’ Office

The Assistant Private Secretaries facilitate and support The Prince of Wales’s and The Duchess of Cornwall’s official duties, engagements and charitable work. They are responsible for Their Royal Highnesses’ diaries, arrange briefing sessions, receptions and other functions, and co- ordinate research and briefing to support their work. Each Assistant Private Secretary is responsible for specific areas and for liaising with The Prince’s and The Duchess’s organisations. They also ensure that Their Royal Highnesses are kept informed about topical issues, provide him with background information for their correspondence and meetings, and prepare drafts for speeches and articles. The Assistant Private Secretaries are supported by researchers, personal assistants and administrative staff, and work closely with their colleagues in other households.

The Equerry’s Office is responsible for the programme of engagements for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The Equerry’s Office manages Their Royal Highnesses’ diaries on a daily basis and plans the longer-term programme. The Equerry’s Office also manages the logistical and transport arrangements for official visits at home and abroad. There are usually several overseas visits a year. The Equerry is a serving military officer seconded from the Armed Forces to the Household for a period of approximately two years.

Each year, The Prince and The Duchess receive thousands of invitations from a wide range of public and private sector organisations. Each is given careful consideration by Their Royal Highnesses and their staff. The Equerry liaises with the Assistant Private Secretaries, the Communications Office and key organisations to ensure that each year in their visits, The Prince and The Duchess cover a broad range of interests and meet a wide cross-section of people in as many parts of the country as possible. The Equerry also provides a point of contact for military and defence issues. The Prince of Wales maintains close links with the Armed Forces, not just in Britain but also in the Commonwealth.

The Prince of Wales conducts Investitures at Buckingham Palace and attends state functions at the request and on behalf of The Queen. The Equerry’s Office is responsible for the arrangements for these engagements.

Human Resources

The Human Resources Department ensures a highly productive working environment, which enables all staff to maximize their contribution to Their Royal Highnesses’ official and private lives at all times. It is responsible for all aspects of The Household staffing, including structure, search and selection, inward and outbound secondments, remuneration and benefits, training and development, internal communications, all employee health and wellbeing and employee relations matters. As well as shaping and delivering work-related training experiences, the department also supports all staff with career development opportunities across the Household and the institution.

The Treasurer’s Office

The Treasurer’s Office is responsible for Finance, Archives and Inventory. The Office is also responsible for information systems across the Household. 

The Treasurer is also responsible for publishing, contractual and legal matters. The Finance Department exercises financial control through a combination of annual budgets, reforecasts and management accounts and through the application of policies and procedures, particularly for the authorization of expenditure. It is also responsible for achieving best value for money and works with the Master’s Department on procurement. The majority of the Household’s information technology systems are provided and supported by the Information Systems Management section at Buckingham Palace, with the Household’s cost met by The Prince of Wales.

Three Archivists are responsible for managing all the papers and files relating to the public life of The Prince of Wales since the late 1960s. The Keeper of the Archives also manages requests for The Prince and The Duchess to become patron or president of organisations, as well as requests relating to existing patronages and presidencies. One inventory controller and two assistants are responsible for the recording and safekeeping of gifts and assets owned by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Communications

As Heir to The Throne, there is extensive public and media interest in the activities of Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and that of The Duchess of Cornwall. The Clarence House Communications Office helps to facilitate a better understanding of their work and activities. The Communications Office handles all media enquiries and proactive communications, including features, documentaries and events, for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and liaises closely with Royal Communications colleagues in respect of general issues to do with The Royal Family.

Correspondence

The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex receive a large number of letters each year. In 2019-20, for example, they received 87,066 letters and cards. People from all over the world write to Their Royal Highnesses, although the majority of the letters are from the UK.

Letters cover a wide range of subjects and are often prompted by current issues and debates. Their Royal Highnesses see a wide selection of the correspondence and reply to many of the letters they receive directly. The Prince personally wrote 1,142 letters in 2019-20. The Duchess of Cornwall personally wrote 1,367. Their Royal Highnesses ensure that letters not answered by themselves or their Private Secretaries are replied to by the Correspondence Section on their behalf.

Master of the Household’s Department

The Master of the Household is responsible for Their Royal Highnesses’ residences, offices and gardens, personal staff, receptions and all entertaining. The Master of the Household, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police, is also responsible for security and is jointly responsible for confidentiality. 

Official entertaining is an important part of The Prince of Wales’s and The Duchess of Cornwall’s role. These occasions range from receiving official guests and foreign dignitaries to giving receptions of various kinds to thank those involved with The Prince’s and The Duchess’s charities.

The Master of the Household’s Department also includes Orderlies (who maintain office equipment and are responsible for office supplies, stationery and office cars) and Receptionists, and it has responsibility for health and safety.

The Master of the Household’s Department is also jointly responsible for other Royal Residences, including Highgrove.

Working at The Household

The Household of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall employs people across a broad spectrum of disciplines and skill sets that assist Their Royal Highnesses in fulfilling their prominent role in public life. As an employer, the Household prides itself on being committed to its staff and encouraging individuals to grow and thrive within the organisation.

The Household has welcomed summer internships, work experience placements and school visits, in order to provide a greater understanding of working life within this energetic organisation.

Supporting people, organisations and communities

Support for people, communities and organisations is a major part of Their Royal Highnesses vision and work and a primary focus for their charities and engagement programmes. This year the Household supported Their Royal Highnesses in undertaking 580 engagements across 14 countries and 90 towns and cities in the UK.

Their Royal Highnesses’ engagements are intended to cast a light on excellence and achievement in communities across all sectors of society, to bring people together in support of community- based initiatives and endeavours, to promote and protect traditions that are shared and valued by people from many different walks of life and to act as a focal point for local and national unity and cohesion.

The Prince’s newly consolidated charitable structure of The Prince’s Trust group, The Prince’s Foundation and The Prince of Wales Charitable Fund has allowed renewed focus on providing youth opportunity, skills training, education and community outreach programmes to thrive.

Sustainability report

Their Royal Highnesses devote much of their lives to environmental and social causes, through the charities and initiatives they support and the engagements they undertake.

This section sets out some of the positive contributions the Household makes in support of Their Royal Highnesses. It also sets out its main environmental impacts, which arise from travel, office and domestic energy use, and sustainable farming at Highgrove.

The environment

Greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions arise primarily through the burning of fossil fuels for transport, heating and lighting, and from agriculture at the Home Farm.

Emissions from energy use fell for a fourth year in a row, by 16% due to an increase in renewable energy usage and less use of fossil-fuels. Emissions from official UK travel and other Household travel decreased by 26%, attributable to a reduction in the miles travelled by Their Royal Highnesses to and from engagements in the UK.

Year to 31 March CO2 e emissions	2020 Tonnes	2019 Tonnes
Office and domestic energy use	97	115
UK & overseas official and other travel	1,585	3,229
Total energy & travel emissions	1,682	3,334
Duchy Home Farm at Highgrove	1,451	1,726
Total Household emissions including farm	3,133	5,070

While emissions vary each year, the aim is to ensure they are minimised by investing in renewable energy and ensuring travel is planned with carbon as well as cost, security and logistics in mind. This year a record 92% of energy (including green gas and electricity) came from renewable sources and just under half of this was generated on-site by solar panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps.

Official overseas travel is considered separately below as it is on behalf of Her Majesty’s UK Governments and is not under the Household’s control.

The Household balances out its emissions to zero by investing in sustainable projects; for each tonne emitted the Household buys a carbon credit representing a tonne stored or saved through credible carbon offsetting.

Energy use

The table below shows the mix of energy sources used across the offices and residences and the resulting carbon emissions. Fossil-fuel use has been reduced by 21% this year contributing towards a 16% reduction in net emissions.

Year to 31 March  Office and domestic energy use	2020 MWh	2019 MWh
On-site renewable energy	1,423	1,352
Electricity and gas (renewable sources via the grid)	1,417	1,442
Total from renewable sources	2,840	2,794
Electricity, gas and oil (non-renewable sources)	253	322

Total energy use

3,093

3,116

Year to 31 March CO2 e emissions	2020  Tonnes	2019 Tonnes
Gross carbon emissions (location-based)	408	455
Net emissions (market-based)1	97	115

1.  Applying zero emissions to mains-gas backed by Green Gas Credits and applying the market rate to electricity purchases under new Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 guidance – see the Carbon Report for more details.

Travel

Year to 31 March Official UK and overseas travel	2020	2019
Miles travelled by air and rail: UK	10,986	14,151
Miles travelled by air and rail: Overseas	80,424	54,059

CO2e emissions	2020 Tonnes	2019 Tonnes
Overseas official travel	899	2,302
UK official travel	285	471
Subtotal: official travel	1,184	2,773
Other travel	401	456
Total: travel	1,585	3,229

The 57% reduction in emissions from official travel is largely due to the selection of scheduled flights over chartered aircraft.

Official travel outside the United Kingdom is undertaken at the request either of Her Majesty’s Government, or the Government(s) of The Queen’s other Realms. Emissions vary each year depending on the countries Their Royal Highnesses are asked to visit.

Water

Year to 31 March Measured water use	2020 m3	2019  m3
Total measured mains water use	7,966	9,192

Water use varies each year according to various factors including the number and type of events and the amount of rain. Where possible, alternative sources of water are used such as collected rainwater or water from boreholes. Other measures to reduce water use includes the use of dual-flush toilets, low-flow showers and water-free car cleaning products. The Household also uses a range of cleaning products that are designed to reduce their impact on waterways.

Waste

Alongside the usual recycling arrangements for paper, card, metals and plastics, the Household has for many years sent food waste (e.g. vegetable peelings) from the London offices to be turned into fertiliser and generate renewable energy. Staff tea-points have bins to collect tea bags and other small bits of food waste as well as the main kitchens.

Where possible, other waste is composted on-site. Food waste is minimised by careful meal planning and re-use of leftovers.

The Household sends the majority of its plastic waste for recycling and is taking action to reduce its single plastic use. It has used glasses and ceramic mugs and cups rather than disposable cups for over a decade. Kitchens have chilled water dispensers that are connected to the mains, so plastic bottles aren’t needed.

Procurement

The Household’s environmental and social impact extends beyond its own activities and these are considered when choosing goods and services and suppliers.

Businesses that have been granted a Royal Warrant for goods or services supplied to the Household have, since 1990, been required to demonstrate they understand and take a responsible approach to environmental and social issues. An independent committee, assisted by Business in the Community and the Household, reviews how the companies respond to a wide range of sustainability and social issues including climate change, endangered species, labour standards, genetic modification, deforestation and waste management (including use of plastics). The Household also engages with other key suppliers on environmental and social matters.

Duchy Home Farm

His Royal Highness began the conversion of Duchy Home Farm to an organic farming system over thirty years ago. It produces a wide range of meat and cereals as well as fruit and vegetables. It is an exemplar for sustainable agriculture, with over 1,000 people visiting each year to learn about holistic farming principles and practices that promote healthy soil, livestock and produce.

Duchy Home Farm has, by today’s standards, relatively small herds of cattle that spend as much time outside as the weather allows – at least six months. The cattle have a low stocking density giving them plenty of space to roam. They have a grass (rather than corn or soy) based diet, the majority of which is grown on-site or locally. This means the farm doesn’t contribute to tropical deforestation from soy growing.

Using and enhancing natural capital

The farm is run in a way that protects and enhances natural capital. All farm production results in a range of environmental and social impacts. The positive benefits, often not accounted for in an organic farming system, include:

Greater biodiversity: most of the land is farmed in rotation producing a range of crops and livestock. The estate has over 300 acres of species-rich permanent pasture with over 80 different plant species in some fields. This encourages a wide range of insects, birds and other wildlife.

Food security: working within closed cycles and reducing dependency on imported feed and fertiliser helps reduce the reliance on unsustainable fossil fuels and market volatility.

Healthy living soil: this is a key part of natural capital and underpins organic agriculture. Management practices are focused on protecting and enhancing the living part of the soil. Traditional crop rotation uses legumes such as clover to take nitrogen from the air and hold it in the soil for the benefit of the following crops. Animal manure from winter-housed cattle is composted and spread back on the land, recycling vital nutrients and promoting healthy soil.

High standards of animal welfare: all livestock are kept in ways that allow them to express their natural traits; pigs and sheep live outside all year round; dairy and beef cattle are at pasture for at least six months of the year and housed during the winter when they are fed silage and hay-based diets. Antibiotics are used only when prescribed by a vet as necessary for the welfare of the animal.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions are an unavoidable impact of agriculture; at the Duchy Home Farm they come mainly from nitrogen in manure and crops, and from livestock. The farm is managed to try to minimise emissions through the careful timing of manure applications and the sowing of plants that ‘catch’ the nitrogen. By incorporating cattle manure and plant matter in the soil, significant quantities of carbon can be stored, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. Avoiding energy-intensive artificial fertilisers reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain. Steps are also taken to reduce fossil fuel use such as solar thermal heating and solar panels that reduce grid electricity use.

Year to 31 March CO2e emissions1	2020  Tonnes	2019 Tonnes
Energy use	171	199
Livestock and manure	1,296	1,571
Crops and other sources	76	48
CO2 capture in woodland2	(92)	(92)
Total emissions	1,451	1,726

Other resource use	2020  Tonnes	2019  Tonnes
Energy use (MWh)	872	872
Mains water use (‘000s litres)3	5,744	6,681

1. Emissions are estimated using a standard methodology and are subject to significant error margins due to the complexity of the factors affecting emissions.
2. CO₂ capture in woodland is estimated using woodland areas, tree species and age and excludes changes in soil carbon. It is not expected to change significantly in the short-term.

Greenhouse gas emissions remain fairly constant in the system established on the farm, fluctuating each year with changes in the number of livestock, the amount of crops harvested and the amount of energy needed to work the soil and dry crops. This year’s emissions from livestock have fallen due to a reduction in the number of cattle. Emissions from crops have increased this year following an increase in the tonnage of crops harvested.

 

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