Revealed: royals took more than £1bn income from controversial estates

Investigation reveals King Charles and the late queen’s income from duchies grew sixteenfold during Elizabeth’s reign

King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II have received payments equivalent to more than £1bn from two land and property estates that are at the centre of a centuries-old debate over whether their profits should be given to the public instead.

An investigation by the Guardian has established the full scale of income extracted by the royals from the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which run giant portfolios of land and property across England.