Prince William was business as usual as he visited a village near Dartmoor prison on Tuesday â as Prince Harry marked his first birthday since returning to the UK.Â
The Prince of Wales, 44, stepped out in Princetown near Devon to discuss the Princetown Community Fund, which will make £250,000 available to support locally led social, economic and environmental projects in the moorland village.
The future king visited community and culture hub Gather & Moor, and met residents and community leaders in the village.
The outing came as Prince Harry celebrated his 42nd birthday, with wife Meghan Marklesharing a gushing tribute on Instagram, calling him “simply the best”.Â
William is yet to publicly address his brother’s return to the UK, as the pair are not believed to have been in contact for several years.
See the best photos from William’s outing belowâĤ
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A royal welcome
William appeared in great spirits on Harry’s birthday as he was welcomed to Princetown, beaming as he shook hands with residents on arrival.
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The Prince wore a navy suit after announcing the new community fund.
The future king is no longer personally benefiting from the controversial £1.5 million annual rent generated by the abandoned prison, in a change announced earlier this year.
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Getting stuck in
At Gather & Moor, William met representatives from heritage business Princetown Press, and even had a go himself at using their printing press.
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As he rolled the ink, he was told “fantastic” and “good”, before pushing down the pedal and admiring his handiwork, receiving a round of applause after a brief moment of panic when he dropped the paper.
“There we go, excellent, and it’s spelled correctly!” he joked, looking at the perfectly printed sheet, adding: “What’s so lovely is how crisp each letter is.”
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The final result
The final result read: “Gather & Moor Princetown. Opened by His Royal Highness, Prince William, The Duke of Cornwall. 15th September 2026.
“This broadsheet was set by hand and printed by Prince William to mark the day, on land held by the Duchy of Cornwall, Dartmoor, Devon.”
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A busy schedule
He also met Princetown residents, community leaders and organisations who have been helping to develop plans for the Devon village
Later on, William met residents at a youth club, which recently received money from the heir’s Duchy of Cornwall to improve their facilities.
Latest developments in Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall
A Dispatches and Sunday Timesinvestigation in 2024 discovered the Duchy of Cornwall signed a £37 million deal in 2022, before Charles became King and William the Prince of Wales, to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice, paying £1.5 million a year over 25 years, and a deal with the Ministry of Defence to allow the armed forces to train on Dartmoor land.
But the category C prison has been empty since July 2024 after high levels of radon, a toxic gas that occurs naturally in soil and rocks and can cause lung cancer, were recorded in prisonersâ accommodation.
The new regeneration fund will be delivered by Devon Communities Together, and grants ranging from £500 to £40,000 will be available, alongside support for organisations applying for funding.
It forms part of the Princeâs plan for the Duchy to deploy more than £500 million over the next decade to invest in local communities, homes, local economies, renewable energy, farming resilience and environmental recovery.
The fund will build on work by the Princetown Place Strategy and the Encounters Shop initiative.
