Prince William, King Charles' different business strategies laidbare

Prince William and King Charles have distinct approaches when it comes to conducting their business affairs.

It comes after Prince of Wales amassed a staggering £23 million last year while also channeling significant funds into his Kensington Palace household from the prosperous Duchy of Cornwall estate. 

Despite his busy royal duties, William and Kate, both 42 years old, demonstrated their philanthropic spirit through undisclosed personal donations to charities supporting causes such as the Ukraine war relief and earthquake appeals in Turkey and Syria. 

They also contributed to the London Air Ambulance and various mental health charities. In a modern twist, it was revealed that William conducts business via WhatsApp messages, marking a departure from his father, King Charles, 77, who prefers traditional phone calls.

Mr Martin said: "Sustainability is a passion that they both share but there are some differences. His Royal Highness, the 24th Duke, would telephone me. His Royal Highness, the 25th Duke, will WhatsApp me."

 He added: "The day after Her Late Majesty died, I rang Prince William to say, 'Welcome to your Duchy, Sir'.

"I obviously knew him, I’d been working with him for the previous eight years or ten years to really explain to him what his future was during the time he was heir to the throne. And he said, ‘I’m going to give you my mobile telephone number - if you want me, just get me, just message me’. And that’s how he works and he is very involved.

“There will be weekends when my WhatsApp messages will be in double figures and I will be very responsive. If something has gone well or badly, I will want to tell my boss and he’ll be straight back.” 

The £23million given to William comes from the profits of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, which he is entitle to as heir to the throne. He received the full amount in the financial year 2023 to 2024. The cash is used for William and his family's private lives, but also their personal and charitable lives as well.