Prince William

William launches Homewards, a five-year programme aiming to demonstrate that homelessness can be prevented. The initiative immediately draws criticism over the contrast between that goal and his own wealth, residences and the extensive Duchy of Cornwall, as well as the boundary between royal charity work and public housing policy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

An investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times documents rental agreements concluded by the royal Duchies with the military, judiciary, schools and organisations. For the Duchy of Cornwall, it identifies more than £1 million charged to the Royal Navy since 2004 and a long-term lease for Dartmoor Prison. The controversy also concerns historical exemptions from certain taxes enjoyed by the Duchy, whose surplus provides private income for the Prince of Wales.

State of the evidence

Documented

Dartmoor Prison, built on Duchy of Cornwall land, closes in 2024 following the discovery of high radon concentrations. Despite its closure, the Ministry of Justice continues paying approximately £1.5 million annually to the Duchy under a 25-year lease agreed in 2022. The situation becomes highly controversial as former prisoners and staff consider legal action against the ministry and the Public Accounts Committee criticises the contract.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Investigations into the Duchy of Cornwall's rental properties report tenants living in cold, poorly insulated homes, sometimes affected by damp or mould. In August 2026, an EPC analysis of major royal estates identifies numerous properties rated F or G, including more than 80 on the Duchy of Cornwall estate, raising questions about compliance with or use of exemptions from minimum rental standards.

State of the evidence

Documented

William says he is deeply concerned about the human cost of the war that began after the Hamas attack of 7 October, states that 'too many have been killed', calls for an end to fighting as soon as possible, more aid for Gaza and the release of hostages. The intervention, unusual for a royal heir, triggers debate about the monarchy's political neutrality.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Residents of Duchy properties have long criticised complex leases, ground rents and limits on acquiring the freehold, described by some as 'feudal' remnants. In December 2024, the Duchy under William agrees to substantially relax these rules in several areas while maintaining a special regime in the Isles of Scilly.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In his memoir Spare, Harry alleges that during an argument at Nottingham Cottage in 2019, William insulted Meghan, grabbed Harry by the collar and knocked him to the floor, breaking a dog bowl and injuring his back.

Attribution

Directly implicated

More than £13 million in public grants paid over a decade, mainly to Dartmoor farmers including some tenants of the Duchy of Cornwall, have failed to prevent significant ecological deterioration. Campaigners call on William, who became the park's principal landowner through the Duchy, to accelerate restoration and rewilding.

State of the evidence

Documented

As the Lionesses contest their first-ever World Cup final in Australia, William, president of the Football Association, chooses not to attend. His absence is criticised as a lack of symbolic support for women's football, with some comparing it to his regular attendance at men's events.

State of the evidence

Documented

In the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, Harry claims that William's team allegedly participated in negative exchanges or briefings with the press concerning the Sussex couple and recounts that William allegedly shouted at him during the Sandringham family meeting about their withdrawal from royal duties.

Attribution

Directly implicated

William and Catherine's tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas is marked by cancellation of a stop following a land dispute, demonstrations demanding apologies and reparations for slavery, and criticism of certain staged scenes considered reminiscent of colonialism. In Jamaica, William expresses his 'profound sorrow' over slavery without issuing the formal apology sought by some activists.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

William states in 2017 and again in 2021 that human population growth in Africa increases pressure on wildlife and natural spaces. His remarks draw criticism highlighting the lower population densities and per-capita carbon footprints of many African countries, and the fact that the Prince himself has three children.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

After Harry and Meghan claim that an unnamed member of the royal family expressed concerns about their son's skin colour, William publicly states that the royal family is 'very much not a racist family'. His response becomes one of the main elements of the institutional crisis sparked by the interview.

State of the evidence

Disputed

In November 2020, it emerges that William contracted Covid-19 in April but that the information was not made public at the time. Commentators and royal journalists criticise the decision on the grounds that the future King's illness during a major health crisis was a matter of public interest and that disclosure might have reinforced public health messaging.

A video about William's visit to conservation projects in Tanzania, shown at an international conference against wildlife trafficking, is criticised by African experts and Survival International for giving minimal space to local voices and presenting what they consider a paternalistic portrayal of conservation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Following publication in 2012 of topless photographs of Catherine taken with a telephoto lens during a holiday at private property in France, William and his wife bring legal action. In 2017, a French court finds a breach of their privacy and awards them 100,000 euros in damages; several executives and photographers are also sanctioned.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

William faces repeated criticism in 2016 and 2017 over the limited number of royal engagements he undertakes while working part-time as an air ambulance pilot. The controversy peaks when he misses the 2017 Commonwealth Day service for a ski holiday in Verbier, while the Court Circular records royal activities on only 13 days at the beginning of the year.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

William is criticised in 2014 after a deer and wild boar hunt in Spain shortly before a high-profile appeal against illegal wildlife trade. In 2016, he prompts another controversy by suggesting that commercially hunting an elderly, infertile animal may, under certain strict circumstances, help finance conservation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

William is deployed to the Falkland Islands for six weeks as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot amid heightened tensions between London and Buenos Aires ahead of the war's 30th anniversary. Argentina's Foreign Ministry condemns the arrival of a throne heir in the 'uniform of the conqueror' and accuses the United Kingdom of militarising the dispute.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

William and Catherine Middleton's wedding involves a major publicly funded security operation. Figures subsequently obtained through freedom of information requests estimate policing costs at approximately £6.35 million, including £2.8 million in overtime; a 2011 estimate put the entire security operation at around £7.2 million. Republican and anti-austerity critics denounce the cost borne by the public.

State of the evidence

Documented

During his RAF attachment, William uses Chinook training flights that coincide with journeys to a wedding, his cousin Peter Phillips's stag party, royal residences and Kate Middleton's parents' garden. Documents obtained under freedom of information laws put the cost of five particularly controversial flights at over £50,000 and reveal that certain officials would reportedly have cancelled sorties had they known all the private details.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated