Exposed: how the Prince of Wales pocketed £8m from Highgrove

Prince Charles has received around £8m simply for living in his country house, Highgrove, under the terms of a highly unusual tenancy agreement, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

Prince Charles has received around £8m simply for living in his country house, Highgrove, under the terms of a highly unusual tenancy agreement, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

The Prince's senior financial officials told the Public Accounts Committee earlier this year that he paid a "full market rent" for the use of his Gloucestershire estate. Yet the annual "rent" - currently £336,000 - has been paid directly into the Prince's own coffers for the past 25 years.

MPs had assumed that the Prince of Wales's monthly rent for Highgrove was held in trust for his heirs. But Alan Williams, a senior member of the PAC, found the money is paid instead directly into the Duchy's revenue account.