A tribunal ruled that the Duchy, which provided the Prince with an income of £17.8 million last year, was no longer exempt from freedom of information laws.
Since 1337 the Duchy, which owns 132,000 acres of land in 23 counties, has been the private domain of the heir to the throne.
But after a three-year legal battle by a local environmental campaigner, a judge decided that the Duchy is, in fact “a public authority”.
The decision means the Duchy, and by implication other royal assets such as the Duchy of Lancaster, owned by the Queen, must abide by some of the same rules of disclosure as local councils.
The case is also potentially embarrassing for the Prince, who prides himself on his environmental campaigns, as it revolved around the Duchy’s refusal to discuss the possible environmental impact of an oyster farm in its waters.
Michael Bruton, the environmentalist who has now forced the Duchy to answer his questions about the oyster farm, said: “It was clear that the Duchy did not want people to peer into its affairs and it has spent the last three years stalling. Read on and comment » | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Thursday, November 03, 2011
