‘It’s archaic’: the struggle to heat poorly insulated homes let by royal estates

A number of idyllic-looking homes in estates owned by King Charles and Prince William do not meet energy standards for rentals

• Royal estates rent out homes that fail to meet legal energy efficiency standards

This summer, the duchy of Cornwall got a new-look website with a bold statement of intent at the top: “We’re on a mission to become a world-leading impact organisation.”

Updating the website will have been the easiest part of that mission. Upgrading hundreds of ageing, mostly rural, rented cottages, farmhouses and country houses will be one of the hardest.