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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Lizzie McAllister & Joe Smith

Prince William's comment on royal future that reduced King Charles to tears

A comment made by Prince WIlliam about his father’s royal future once reduced King Charles to tears, the monarch has revealed.

As Charles stepped up to take his place as head of state, some of his former duties as Prince of Wales passed to Prince William, including overseeing his father’s cherished Duchy of Cornwall.

The estate was known to be particularly close to Charles’ heart and he ran it for more than 50 years with a passion which saw the Duchy’s estimated value climb to £1billion.

Viewers saw the king confess that a comment made by his son had caused him to well up in the 2019 ITV documentary Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall.

The viral clip shows William speaking to second-generation farmer, Mervyn Keeling, about the royal private estate, the Star reports.

Charles said his son's comment 'made the last 50 years worthwhile' (Getty Images)

He said: "I’ve started to think about how I will inherit the Duchy one day and what I do with it.

"I think it’s really important, the family angle, I really do."

Following the statement viewers then saw a clip of Charles who, commenting on the interaction between his son and the farmer, said: "When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it.

"I was deeply touched and moved by what he said. Frankly, it reduced me to tears. It did, really.

"Because, I suddenly thought, well, just hearing that from him has made the last 50 years worthwhile."

Control over the estate passed from Charles when he became King (UK Press via Getty Images)

The new Prince of Wales has also recently announced bold plans to build social housing on the Duchy of Cornwall's land.

Prince William pledged to "push where he can" for more council properties on the 130,000-acre estate he now controls in a recent interview with the Sunday Times.

Responding to a question about whether there were any plans to build social housing on the Duchy's land, he said: "There is. Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can."

The ambitious plans form part of the Prince's mission to end homelessness in the UK, as he told the paper he was taking on a "really big project" related to the issue.

More details on the five-year project are expected to be released at the end of the month.

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