King Charles gives up Welsh home

The former coach house and farm buildings are at the centre of 192 acres of idyllic rolling countryside

King Charles is giving up his home in Wales on the edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog, the official new name for the Brecon Beacons.

Llwynywermod was bought for £1.2m by the Duchy of Cornwall estate on behalf of the then Prince of Wales in 2007 after he spent 40 years searching for the right property.

The home, which is surrounded by 192 acres of countryside, is a former coach house with farm buildings.

According to The Telegraph, the King has been paying rent on the property since the Duchy of Cornwall was passed on to William, who is now the Prince of Wales.

William inherited a £23m annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall when he switched to his new role after Queen Elizabeth II died in September and his father became King. As the heir to the British throne, William is entitled to any surplus of the annual profit generated by the Duchy’s property, land or financial investments.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King gave notice to the Duchy earlier this year that he would be giving up the lease which is due to expire later in the summer.

The Telegraph quoted royal sources who said the King remained “passionate” about Wales, but had decided to give up the property because it was “unlikely” he would be able to use it in the same way as before.

The restored building was originally owned by William Williams in the 13th or 14th century, who was related to Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.

King Charles, then the Prince of Wales pictured in 2019 outside Llwynywermod (PA)

Charles also planted climbers including Albertine roses, jasmine and honeysuckle up the walls.

Six of the English field maples which formed the avenue of trees at William and Kate’s 2011 wedding were later rehomed at the Welsh retreat.

The idea was Charles’s, and with William and Kate’s approval he set them in the soil at the front of the house, along a rustic wooden fence.

Clarence House tweeted in 2013: “The trees from the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey are thriving at Llwynywermod.”

With additional reporting from PA.