Prince William has chosen to disclose less information on how he pays taxes as the Prince of Wales than his father, King Charles, did in the same role.
Annual accounts for the vast £1billion Duchy of Cornwall empire William inherited when he became Prince of Wales do not specify exactly how much he paid in tax.
King Charles, when he was heir to the throne, revealed that in his last full year in the role he voluntarily paid £5.9million in income taxes - but William has opted not to declare how much he has paid this year.
As Duke of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales is entitled to the annual net revenue surplus of the Duchy - to the end of March some £23.6million, down slightly from £24million in the year to March 2023.
The Palace said the prince paid tax at a standard UK tax rate once official costs had been deducted, but the amount he paid in his first full year of entitlement to the Duchy was not disclosed.He is not required to declare the tax.
Prince William has chosen not to reveal how much income tax he pays on the money he receives from the Duchy of Cornwall
His father King Charles, when in the same role, would declare his income tax and expenditure of Duchy money
The Prince of Wales walks with Alastair Martin (centre), secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall. Mr Martin says William likes to communicate via WhatsApp
Royal sources have insisted, however, that he paid more tax than his father because the estate brought in more income, offset by rising costs due to inflation.
Last year William received about £6 million from the Duchy because he became the Duke of Cornwall on the death of the late Queen half way through the financial year, and the Duchy also asked to retain an extra proportion for the day-to-day running of the estate.
The King, as the previous Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, disclosed the voluntary tax he paid in his annual Clarence House review - £5.892 million in 2021/22.
Charles's annual review would also detail his broad income and expenditure of the Duchy money, plus details of the number of valets, housekeepers, dressers chefs, butlers and gardeners he employed, and his tax bill, but there was no such detail for the Waleses' household.
Asked why the Prince was being less transparent, sources told the Telegraphthis was how they had opted to do it for now and that it reflected 'what was required'.
The level of tax paid, they said, was 'appropriate'.
The number of staff in William and Catherine's household has also risen from 50 to 66.Diversity figures show 14% of staff were from an ethnic minority background, down from 16.3% of staff the year before.
The most senior team around William and Kate, the management body that reports directly to them, are all white men, reports ITV.
Despite the change in transparency Alastair Martin, the Duchy of Cornwall's secretary and keeper of records, said the Prince was keen to be contactable on matters relating to the estate.
'Sustainability is a passion that they both share but there are some differences,' he said of similarities between William and his father.
'His royal highness the 24th duke would telephone me. His royal highness the 25th Duke, will WhatsApp me.'
He added: 'The day after her late majesty died, I rang Prince William to say 'Welcome to your Duchy, Sir'.
'I obviously knew him, I'd been working with him for the previous eight years or ten years, to really explain to him what his future was during the time he was heir to the throne.
'And he said, 'I'm going to give you my mobile telephone number - if you want me, just get me, just message me'.
'And that's how he works and he is very involved. There will be weekends when my WhatsApp messages will be in double figures and I will be very responsive.
'If something has gone well or badly, I will want to tell my boss and he'll be straight back.'
The Duchy was set up in 1337 by Prince Edward III in order to provide a pot of money for his son, Prince Edward.
