His father King Charles also handed over the 130,000-acre Duchy of Cornwall to his eldest son, making the 41-year-old the biggest private landowner in Britain, with a £1.2 billion holding across 23 counties.
Among the assets in his impressive portfolio are farms, housing developments, seven castles, woodland, coastlines and commercial property. But also became the owner of some 200 Scilly Islands and rocks off the Cornish coast, including almost a third of the homes on the five inhabited islands of St Mary’s, Tresco, St Martin’s, St Agnes and Bryher.
The archipelago, located just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, has been described as Britain’s answer to the Maldives, thanks to the islands’ talcum-powder-white sand and crystal clear blue water.
They can be reached by boat – the Scillonian III ferry which takes almost three hours to travel through the choppy waters from Penzance – or by helicopter.
Those planning to fly can get helicopter from Penzance to the islands of St Mary’s or Tresco in just 15 minutes.
Alternatively, flying by plane will take you to St Mary’s, which is the largest of the islands (although still tiny at just three miles long and one mile wide).
From there, boats can ferry you to the other islands, which have only around 5,000 tourist beds in total, and so never seem crowded.
This makes them the perfect getaway for those seeking isolated walks, cycling routes, quiet pubs and beaches.
Travelers to the islands would be in elevated company.
Prince William, whose Duchy is paid a single daffodil a year by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, has holidayed on Tresco on several occasions.
As a youngster, he was pictured during a trip there in 1989 with Princess Diana, Prince Charles and his brother Prince Harry.
