Prince Charles may not be stepping into the role of King of England just yet, but the Queen’s son is all set to take over the day-to-day responsibility of the running of the Royal Sandringham estate from his father, Prince Philip.
According to a Mail on Sunday report, the Prince will be taking over responsibility for the 20,000 acre estate from his 93-year-old father, including overseeing arable, livestock, and fruit farms. He will also manage the property and a 240-acre country park.
Prince Philip is already responsible for several estates, including Balmoral, Windsor, and Sandringham in Norfolk, where the Royal Family just enjoyed Christmas.
But as the Queen’s husband gets older, he feels it is time for the responsibility to be passed on, in this case to his son, Charles, as of the beginning of 2015.
A source told the Mail that Prince Philip will still be consulted over changes, but Prince Charles will have a more hands-on role.
“We understand Prince Philip has handed the management over to his son. Charles is now taking a very close interest in the estate and its running. He has excellent ideas and we are expecting to see different things happening.”
One of the changes expected to be implemented by Charles is more organic farming at the estate, which has been a private home for British monarchs since 1862. It is also the Queen’s country retreat and is a successful commercial estate as well.
As the source added, “Charles is likely to turn the whole estate organic. He’ll do things like introduce rewards for environmentally friendly farming. Philip’s a passionate conservationist but has very set ways on how the estate should be run. He doesn’t like outsiders interfering.”
Sources close to the Prince of Wales say handing management to Charles would be “a natural decision,” and is evidence that Philip is stepping back a little from his royal duties.