They say it’s good to be king, but in reality it’s much better to be the king’s son, at least that is the case with the British monarchy.
Whoever is King or Queen of England automatically becomes the Duke (or Duchess) of Lancaster. That’s been the case since 1399. It’s a huge private estate, very much in the Downton Abbey style.
This estate is an amazing 45,550 acres of land holdings which includes some rural estates and farmland, urban developments, historical buildings and some commercial properties.
The money this land generates goes to support the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II is the current Duchess of Lancaster.
The overall value of the land is worth about $580 million and generates about $19 a year in income which is used to support the royal family.
Sounds great, right?
Well, that’s nothing compared to what the King or Queen’s first born gets. As the eldest son of the current ruling monarch, you automatically inherit to Duke of Cornwall. This land is much bigger, and covers 135,000 acres.
The modern day value of this land is almost a billion dollars and generates about $23 million a year in revenue, all for the Duke of Cornwall. The current Duke of Cornwall is Prince Charles.
When Prince Charles becomes King, he inherits the Duchy of Lancaster and, his son Prince William becomes the Duke of Cornwall.
