Here are some photos of Prince William today in Cornwall. He visited the Duchy College Stoke Climsland in Callington, “to learn about how the college is providing opportunities for young people in rural areas.” He is, after all, the Duke of Cornwall. With that title came a vast and profitable real estate portfolio which provides William with an annual income of something like $40-50 million. We don’t know the exact figures because William refuses to disclose his tax information and anything about the current Duchy finances. He also doesn’t see any kind of connection between his inherited guardianship of a vast real estate portfolio and his keenness to “do something” about homelessness.
Speaking of homelessness, William was out last night at the Centrepoint Awards in London. I covered it separately in an earlier post. What I failed to mention was that William asked a couple of his Spencer cousins to come to the event too. Lady Kitty Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer and Lady Eliza Spencer (the Earl Spencer’s daughters) came to the event and “supported” William. It cannot be underestimated how Prince Harry flipped the script on the Windsors this year – the Windsors thought they were setting Harry up to look desolate and alone at the Invictus service in London, but Charles Spencer and Harry’s aunts came to the service, as did some of the Spencer cousins. Then Harry flew in, undetected, to his uncle’s funeral and reportedly stayed at the Spencer ancestral home, Althorp. Now William is copying Harry on this as well – “I can show off MY connections to the Spencer family too, Harry, look at me!”
Meanwhile, I think it’s interesting that William stepped out for “work events” three days in a row this week. King Charles has already left for Australia today. Usually, when a major royal travels abroad, the left-behinds try not to pull focus from the foreign tour. I wonder if William is going to try to step on his father’s newscycles though. Or will William use the tour as an excuse to hibernate for a fortnight?
Last thing: does William know that the beard had aged him significantly? He already looked older than his age, but the greying, sleazy-looking beard makes him look like a frumpy 55-year-old.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.