Latest news with #MatthewMorris
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Prince William wants to use Duchy of Cornwall to 'make people's lives better'
The Prince of Wales inherited the role of Duke of Cornwall when his father became King in 2022 and hopes to transform the ancient Duchy of Cornwall estate into a force for social change Prince William has set out his vision to transform the 700-year-old Duchy of Cornwall into a force for social change. The Prince, who inherited the role of Duke of Cornwall when his father became King in 2022, wants to use the ancient estate "to make people's lives better." On a recent visit to Duchy farmland on Dartmoor, William, 42, vowed: "We're not the traditional landowner - we want to be more than that." The estate - spanning 128,494 acres from rural Devon to inner-city London - was originally set up to generate private income for the royal family. But William is determined to re-write the rule book, instead using his title to push for "social change." He added: 'The Duchy has been a positive force for good, but we can do so much more. I think the key thing is, it's about not losing the important community and historical links of the Duchy. But it's also about making sure we're building on and enhancing, modernising the Duchy. We're going to modernise it without losing its key spirit of community.' The Prince's priorities range from restoring rivers to ending homelessness, supporting the mental health of farmers and arranging get-togethers to combat rural loneliness. He has even launched a new strap-line: "Positive impact for people, places and planet." Unlike previous generations, William has a more hands-on approach and visits part of the estate once every four to six weeks. His trips are usually private and kept quiet by loyal locals who are used to royal comings and goings. In keeping with a more modern approach, rural director of the Duchy, Matthew Morris, revealed how employees "no longer feel the need to put on a tie when the Duke of Cornwall is in town." And William shared how he communicates with the estate's more than 150 staff via WhatsApp and asks questions over social media to keep in the loop. When the Prince becomes King, the Duchy of Cornwall title will pass to his eldest son Prince George. The estate was established by Edward III in 1337 to generate private income for his then seven-year-old heir and takes in 20 counties across England. Despite being called the Duchy of Cornwall, its largest landholdings are actually in Devon. William shared his vision after the property and land empire, as well as the King's estate, the Duchy of Lancaster, were investigated by a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary: The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions. In the 2024 programme, it was revealed how the the Duchy of Cornwall is profiting from public services. In 2017, it billed Devon county council £300,000 in a 21-year rental deal for a primary school on Dartmoor. Other deals include charging a primary school near Bath £60,000 for a 25-year lease and £189,000 to a secondary school in Cornwall over 30 years to use a farmhouse. The Duchy of Cornwall said it is "a private estate with a commercial imperative... committed to restoring the natural environment." The Duchy of Lancaster said it "operates as a commercial company" and "complies with all relevant UK legislation."
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
William... the VERY modern Prince: No wearing ties or 'being polite just because I'm in the room' and stick to WhatsApp - royal's new approach to Duchy of Cornwall as he 'removes ambiguity from discreet organisation'
Prince William has revealed his fresh approach for the Duchy of Cornwall, the estate he inherited from his father upon the King's accession to the throne. In an interview with The Telegraph's Royal Editor Hannah Furness, who spent a day travelling alongside the Prince of Wales, 42, as he visited his tenants, the royal shared how he was modernising the land and property empire. This includes encouraging people involved with the Duchy to speak openly, with the Prince telling his staff to 'please give [everyone] proper authority to say what's really going on. Not being polite because I'm in the room,' ahead of a meeting in Dartmoor. Elsewhere, Matthew Morris, the rural director of the Duchy, revealed how employees 'no longer feel the need to put on a tie when the Duke of Cornwall is in town' - perhaps unlike when Charles - who is often smartly dressed in a full suit - visited. The publication also noted how William will communicate with staff via WhatsApp and ask questions over the social media platform in order to keep updated. But while the Prince is seemingly taking a more modern approach to the estate compared to his father, the pair do share a 'healthy impatience'. Ben Murphy, estate director, admitted that the royal has a 'healthy impatience, as his father did', while secretary Will Bax said the father-of-three is 'pretty ambitious' and 'pretty demanding', which he added, is 'great'. Discussing the Duchy's fresh approach, Bax added that the estate has 'perhaps been a slightly discreet organisation that hasn't really put its head above the parapet very much, that hasn't spoken very publicly about what's important to us'. He added that the Prince - who is looking to improve the estate so it has even more of a positive social impact, while keeping its key community spirit - and his team are 'seeking to remove any ambiguity'. The aim for the Duchy's mission, which is to deliver a positive impact for people, places and the planet, to be more understood by the public comes after the property and land empire, as well as the King's estate, the Duchy of Lancaster were investigated by a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary: The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions. In the 2024 programme, it was revealed how the the Duchy of Cornwall is profiting from public services. In 2017, it billed Devon county council £300,000 in a 21-year rental deal for a primary school on Dartmoor. Other deals include charging a primary school near Bath £60,000 for a 25-year lease and £189,000 to a secondary school in Cornwall over 30 years to use a farmhouse. The Duchy of Cornwall also charges the military to train on its 67,500 acres of Dartmoor, but the MoD would not disclose the exact bill. That is despite Charles being head of the Armed Forces and William being a lieutenant colonel in the Army. Charities have also paid millions to the duchies to rent a 1960s office block in London next to the MI6 HQ. They include Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care, where Charles is patron, and Comic Relief, which William has promoted. Meanwhile, Charles' property empire, which provides a private income to the monarch, is earning £830,000 a year from renting a two-storey warehouse to Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, bombshell documents revealed. The unprecedented audit of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, the Prince of Wales's private estate, showed taxpayers are shelling out millions every year to boost the wealth of the senior royals. Charities – even those where the King is patron – are also stumping up millions, the five-month investigation of more than 5,000 landholdings and properties showed. Duchy money is private income for Charles and William on top of the Sovereign Grant. The Duchies are run as commercial enterprises, but pay no capital gains tax nor corporation tax. Both Charles and William do pay income tax, but it is not clear how much. The Duchy of Lancaster, which in 2023 generated £27.4 million for the King, and the Duchy of Cornwall, which raised £23.6 million for William, are not required to pay business taxes. Both estates claim they are not funded by the taxpayer, but the cache of documents obtained by Dispatches and the Sunday Times laid bare the huge income they receive from public services. The Duchy of Cornwall said it is 'a private estate with a commercial imperative... committed to restoring the natural environment', and said it was 'acting in a responsible and sustainable way' on mining. The Duchy of Lancaster said it 'operates as a commercial company' and 'complies with all relevant UK legislation'. The Duchy of Cornwall - a major landowner with 130,000 acres of land - was established in 1337 to provide an income for the heir to the throne. After King Charles ascended the throne in 2023 Prince William took over ownership of the Duchy.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flash flooding, fire leaves disaster for Daphne family
DAPHNE, Ala. (WKRG) — Two disasters strike a home in Daphne's Lake Forest neighborhood, due to flash flooding Sunday, the water damage caused a fire late Monday. 'It sucks when it rains,' said homeowner, Matthew Morris. 'It comes up and it happened so fast.' Nearly 2.5 feet of water filled the living room of the home and the rest of the downstairs. 'We get up what we can and start with the most valuable things and move them upstairs,' said Morris regarding cleaning up the mess. Morris told WKRG News 5 he and his family spent all day Monday cleaning up the damage only to wake up to another problem. 'My sister-in-law heard a loud noise,' said Morris. 'Woke my brother up, and he came and woke me up.' 'He said, 'there's a fire!' We looked out of his bedroom window and saw a fire,' he continued. After noticing the flames from outside the window, the family ran outside. They saw their new ATV was on fire. A boxed up lithium battery placed inside the ATV, may be to blame. Due to recent flooding throughout the Gulf Coast, Daphne Fire Department released a statement: 'Lithium-ion batteries are known to pose great fire risk when exposed to water. Please use caution when using, charging and storing these batteries especially if they have been exposed to water.' – Daphne Fire Department, Facebook Despite the tragedies over the last couple of days, Morris and his family are keeping a positive attitude. 'Now we're focused on cleaning it up, get everything that's damaged out,' said Morris. 'Get it going, save what we can.' The family has created a GoFundMe for donations to help with the damage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
