Duchy of Cornwall

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The banner of the Duchy of Cornwall.

The arms of the Duchy of Cornwall.

The Duchy of Cornwall is one of the two Royal duchies in England (with the Duchy of Lancaster). The true nature of the duchy, and whether it should be considered to be in England, is a matter of dispute within Cornwall. The eldest son of the reigning monarch automatically becomes Duke of Cornwall upon the accession to the throne of his royal parent. The current Duke of Cornwall is The Prince of Wales.

The Duke of Cornwall uses the term (although the right to do so is challenged within the current dispute) to describe what is said to be a property company^[1] (though it pays no corporation tax), and has holdings throughout the country, with possessions totaling 571 km² (or 135,000 acres). Nearly half of the holdings are in Devon, with other large holdings in Cornwall, Herefordshire, and Somerset. Annual profit in 2004 was £13,143,000.

As a Crown body, the Duchy is tax-exempt, but since 1993 The Prince has voluntarily paid income tax on his income from it. The Prince paid a voluntary contribution to the Treasury of 50% of his Duchy income from the time he became eligible for its full income at the age of 21 in 1969, and had paid 25% since his 1981 marriage. Tax is calculated after deducting business expenditure, the biggest source of which is The Prince's staff of around 110—from private secretaries to a valet—working in his office at Clarence House and at Highgrove House. Detailed records are kept to determine the split between public and private expenditure.

1 Duchy of Cornwall dispute
2 Discrepancies in the Great Charter translations
3 Offices
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Duchy of Cornwall dispute

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For Cornish people (see the constitutional status of Cornwall) and Cornwall (territorial duchy), the Duchy, as shown by the Officers of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1855 in its dispute with the Crown over the ownership of the Cornish Foreshore, has quite a different significance,[1] based on the original Acts and Charters of its creation. Cornwall itself in this framework is described, de jure, as a Duchy (as opposed to an ordinary county), and the Duchy estates are distinguished from the Duchy itself, having themselves been annexed and united to "the aforesaid Duchy". The Duke of Cornwall may even be described as Cornwall's head of state. For example, the Duke traditionally had a ceremonial role in summoning the Cornish Stannary Parliament.

It should be noted, however, that the administrative machinery of Cornwall almost invariably refers to itself as a county (including, for example, Cornwall County Council itself) in the English language. Although it can be argued that the administrative county and Duchy in this sense are separate, co-existing entities, this should be considered within the context of the Honour (Kingdom/Dukedom) within which exists the necessary infrastructure for administration and taxation (county/shire). The administrative county of Cornwall, therefore, being within the Duchy of Cornwall. The reason why the Royal Commission on the Constitution (Kilbrandon 1973) recommended that Cornwall be officially referred to as 'the Duchy' to recognise expressed concerns over its territorial integrity.

The Duchy was established in 1337 by Edward III of England for his son, Edward, Prince of Wales. We can get a feel for the significance of this honour from a subsequent grant. The Charter of 1st Henry IV. to Prince Henry, the eldest Son of that King, states as follows : “We have made and created Henry our most dear first-begotten Son, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester, and have given and granted, and by our Charter have confirmed to him the said Principality, Duchy, and Earldom, that he may preside there, and by presiding, may direct and defend the said parts. We have invested him with the said Principality, Duchy, and Earldom, per sertum in capite et annulum in digito aureum ac virgam auream juxta morem.”

It is commonly understood that the augmentation of the former Earldom of Cornwall into a Duchy occurred on 17 March 1337 by the First Duchy Charter. Whilst this now appears to be entitled the 'Charter of Creation' it was originally called 'The Great Charter' and within it, it can be seen as referring to the fact of the Duchy as having already been created. This charter is simply an enumeration of what this territorial possession comprises in terms of territory, estates, revenues and rights - both public and private. This was done to remove, as stated within the Charter, any doubt over what the Honor comprised. During the latter period of the Earldom of Cornwall various parts of this territorial possession where granted as separate parcels (e.g., Stannaries, vicecomitatus etc.) and which could have been construed as a severance from the Earldom. The purpose of the First Charter was to show clearly that these still formed part of the Honor. From this it is shown that it is:

a) - incorrect to assign the name of this territorial honor exclusively to the estates, which formed only a part of the possessions annexed and united the Duchy of Cornwall, and,

b) - considered inappropriate to use the name of this territorial Honour as a commercial brand name.

Both the Duchy of Cornwall and its counterpart, the Duchy of Lancaster (since 1399 held by the monarch in a personal capacity), have special legal rights not available to other landed estates: for example, the rules on Bona Vacantia operate in favour of the holders of the duchies (as opposed to the Crown. The reigning sovereign has also been the Duke of Lancaster since 1399), and there are separate Attorneys General for the Duchies. Generally, the exemptions all tend to follow the same line: any rights pertaining to the Crown generally in most areas of the country instead pertain to the Duke of Cornwall in right of the Duchy.

In 1780 Edmund Burke sought to curtail further the power of the Crown by removing the various principalities which existed.

… the five several distinct principalities besides the supreme …. If you travel beyond Mount Edgcumbe, you find him [the king] in his incognito, and he is duke of Cornwall …. Thus every one of these principalities has the apparatus of a kingdom …. Cornwall is the best of them….

However, his Parliamentary Bill failed, due to the fact that the current Duke was under age.

[edit] Discrepancies in the Great Charter translations

The English translation of the 17 March 1337 Great Charter (or in Latin "Magna Carta"), as deployed in Rowe v Brenton (Manning edition 1830) states that the King's son is "Duke of Cornwall and heir to the Kingdom of England".

A revised Government translation states that the King's son is "Duke of Cornwall in the Kingdom of England" (Halsbury's Laws 1973).

The Charter Roll of 16 March 1337 announcing the Great Charter said that inspiration was drawn from the time when Cornwall was recognised as being a separate Kingdom, and that the intention was to "restore Cornwall’s original ancient honours".^{[citation needed]}

Today the Duchy states that the "main purpose of the Charter is to create an income for the Duke".

In 1857 the Duchy stated that the three Charters confirm and acknowledge Cornwall as being co-terminous with the Duchy, which is extra-territorial to England and subject to its own chief ruler, law making apparatus and tax raising regime.^{[citation needed]}

Today the Duchy states that "it is merely a collection of private estates".'

Halsbury's Laws refer only to the 17 March 1337 Great Charter. Two subsequent Charters of 18 March 1337 and 3 January 1338 confirming that Cornwall was for all time to be subject to its own law-making regime, and not subject to England’s Summons of Exchequer are not referenced.

Today there is a Parliamentary injunction ^[2] preventing MPs from raising questions about, or even attempting to discuss, these matters. On 16 July 1997 the Liberal Democrat Andrew George MP attempted to raise a Duchy-related question but he was prevented by an injunction that disallows MPs raising any questions in Parliament that are in any way related to the Duchy.

In 2006 the case for Cornwall, in respect of alleged violations of the European Convention of Human Rights, Articles 6, (independent and impartial courts); 8, (respect family life); 10, (freedom of expression); 13, (violations by officials); 14 with Protocol 12, (discrimination on the grounds of association with a national minority, property, birth or other status); 17, (the official destruction of rights); Protocol 1 Article 1, (property rights) with 385 supporting documents, was submitted by members of the Cornish Stannary Parliament to the European Court of Human Rights. On 13 April 2006 the Court stated that it: "will deal with the case as soon as practicable".