The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch 'in right of The Crown', that is, it is owned by the monarch for the duration of their reign, by virtue of their accession to the throne. But it is not the private property of the monarch - it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the monarch.

The Government also does not own The Crown Estate. It is managed by an independent organisation - established by statute - headed by a Board (also known as The Crown Estate Commissioners), and the surplus revenue from the estate is paid each year to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation's finances.

How did The Crown Estate come into being?

Although the ownership of some property can be traced back to Edward the Confessor, the estate as a whole essentially dates from the time of the Norman Conquest.

In 1760, George III reached an agreement with the Government over the estate. The Crown Lands would be managed on behalf of the Government and the surplus revenue would go to the Treasury. In return the King would receive a fixed annual payment - what later became known as the Civil List.

Today, The Crown Estate operates under the auspices of the Crown Estate Act of 1961, which declares that the estate shall be managed by a Board who have a duty to maintain and enhance the value of the estate and the return obtained from it, but with due regard to the requirements of good management.

What is The Crown Estate's relationship with HM Treasury?

We have delivered another year of market outperformance, enabling us to contribute a record £304.1 million to HM Treasury.

Financial information

The Treasury are effectively the principal Government stakeholder for The Crown Estate. They are kept informed of the estate's overall business plans and strategies, although responsibility for the management of the estate rests with the Board.

The Crown Estate is formally accountable to Parliament to which it reports annually.

The working relationship between The Crown Estate and the Treasury is described in a framework document which is updated annually or as occasion requires, and is available to download here:

HM Treasury and The Crown Estate: framework document (PDF, 0.3 MB)

How does the Sovereign Grant Act affect The Crown Estate?

The Sovereign Grant Act became law in 2011.

The Act does not affect the managerial or operational functions of The Crown Estate or the way they are performed. We will continue to give our entire annual surplus (net profit) to the Treasury. The Act simply provides a mechanism that will be used by the Treasury to determine the amount of Government funding for the Monarch by reference to the amount of our annual surplus.

For a summary of the Act's provisions please visit:

HM Treasury website

Does The Crown Estate manage the Royal Palaces?

No. The royal residences are divided into two categories:

1) Occupied Royal Palaces

Administered by the Royal Household and held in trust for future generations, e.g. Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. For further information, please visit:

British monarchy website

2) Private Estates

Her Majesty The Queen's private possessions handed down from previous generations, e.g. Balmoral and Sandringham. The Historic Royal Palaces agency administers the palaces that are no longer in official use and are open to the public, e.g. Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London. For further information, please visit:

Historic Royal Palaces website

Does The Crown Estate manage the Royal Parks?

Windsor Great Park is the only 'Royal Park' that is managed by The Crown Estate. All other Royal Parks are administered by The Royal Parks. Please visit:

The Royal Parks

Is the Royal Family involved in the running of The Crown Estate?

No. The Crown Estate is run by a Board (The Crown Estate Commissioners) and their staff.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is the Ranger of Windsor Great Park, although daily issues are dealt with by the Deputy Ranger on the Windsor estate.

Is there any relationship between The Crown Estate and the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster?

No. The two Duchies are completely separate organisations and operate under their own statutes.

For further information:

The Duchy of Cornwall
10 Buckingham Gate
London
SW1E 6LA

020 7834 7346
Duchy of Cornwall

The Duchy of Lancaster
Lancaster Place
Strand
London
WC2E 7ED

Duchy of Lancaster

What is 'Crown land'?

This is a phrase often used to cover a variety of different properties such as:

Land belonging to The Queen as monarch
The Queen's private property
Properties of the Duchies
Government land

All of these definitions are partly correct, but naturally it can be somewhat confusing. To avoid this, we always refer to our property and land as being 'The Crown Estate'.

What is Old Land Revenue Property?

Old Land Revenue Property is property that has been occupied by the Ministry of Defence or another government department since before 1702 (when by Act of Parliament the responsibility for the armed forces was changed from the Sovereign to the Government). When such property is no longer required by the Ministry of Defence or other government department it returns to the management of The Crown Estate.

Notable examples include Chester and Dover castles, which are both now managed by English Heritage.

How much foreshore does The Crown Estate manage?

The Crown Estate manages around half of the foreshore around the UK coastline, although a good deal of this is leased to third parties such as local authorities and Natural England.

The remainder is owned or managed by bodies such as the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, local authorities, port authorities, statutory bodies and government departments. The following are among distinctive foreshore owners:

The Church Commissioners in Durham
The Duke of Beaufort in the Severn Estuary
The Beaulieu Estate on the River Beaulieu

The Crown Estate does not generally manage the foreshore around the coastline of Cornwall, Sutherland and the Shetland Isles.

What happens to the boundaries of the foreshore when the sea advances or retreats?

If the process of change is natural, and happens imperceptibly from day to day, then ownership changes accordingly. Therefore, if land ceases to be tidal (e.g. foreshore or riverbed), it becomes the property of the adjacent landowner. Conversely if land erodes and naturally converts to tidal, then it becomes the property of the tidal landowner. Often this can be the Crown.

If the change is sudden and immediately visible, e.g. the breaching of flood defences in a storm, then the ownership remains as it was unless alternative agreements are made. The same is the case where changes occur as a result of human action, e.g. reclamation or digging out basins.

Do whale carcasses beached on Crown Estate foreshore belong to The Crown Estate?

No. Whales, amongst other species, are part of what is known as 'Royal fish', and when beached, theoretically The Queen can claim ownership.

In practice however, is it dealt with by a government or local agency, dependent on the location of the whale - see below for more information.

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Please contact the Receiver of Wreck, which is part of the Coastguard Agency.

Receiver of Wreck
The Coastguard Agency
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG

02380 329 474
Receiver of Wreck

Please note: LIVING whales should be reported to:

RSPCA (England & Wales): hotline 0870 5555 999
British Divers Marine Life Rescue: hotline 01825 765 546

Does The Crown Estate assume management of 'unclaimed land'?

Freehold land can sometimes effectively become ownerless. When this happens, title to the land may, in certain circumstances, revert to the Crown as the ultimate owner of all the land in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. This process is called 'escheat'. It can happen in a variety of situations.

The most common is where a registered company is wound up and dissolved without all its property being accounted for in the liquidation.

The Crown Estate deals with escheat where the land falls within England, Wales or Northern Ireland and outside Cornwall and the County Palatine of Lancaster - where escheat is dealt with by the Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster respectively. Contact details for the Duchies are set out in the "Is there any relationship between The Crown Estate and the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster?" FAQ.

Escheat should not to be confused with what in common parlance might be called 'unclaimed land'. Land can often have no apparent owner, but The Crown Estate will not generally be involved with such land unless it is in fact ownerless in circumstances where escheat applies.

Land comprised in the estates of persons who died without making a will and without known family is administered by the Treasury Solicitor.

If you wish to raise an issue relating to land which you think may be subject to escheat please contact our solicitors Burgess Salmon LLP. For their contact details and further information please visit the following guidance note:

Escheat guidance note (PDF, 0.19 MB)

I'd like to buy or let a Crown Estate property, who do I get in contact with?

All our sales and lettings are managed on our behalf by our managing agents who can assist with your enquiry. Our Agents A-Z page here provides you with a list of our estates and the contact details of the managing agent who deals with that estate.

Alternatively you can use our interactive Map here to view our estates. Click on the marker for the area in which you are interested and the managing agents details will be displayed in the right hand pane.

>Managing agents contact list

>Asset map

Do I need a permit to metal detect on Crown Estate foreshore?

No. You do not need to apply for a permit, this excludes the River Thames.

Anybody wishing to carry out metal detecting on our foreshore is granted a permissive right from The Crown Estate; this permissive right does not apply to the seabed or river beds or any other Crown Estate land. The permissive right is also subject to detectorists adhering to The Treasure Act 1996 and its accompanying code of practice, as well as our terms and conditions. We therefore ask that you read the terms and conditions here before metal detecting on Crown Estate land. Please note that you do not need to notify The Crown Estate that you have read these terms and conditions.

Does The Crown Estate license gold panning?

We do not grant permission for people to remove any gold by panning because of the damage gold panning can cause. Please also note that permission of the landowner is required to gain access to the stream or river if you wish to pan for gold.

We understand that this policy may disappoint some however our intention is to help preserve the aquatic environments which are susceptible to damage.

To understand more about the type of damage that gold panning can cause, please contact your relevant national statutory nature conservation organisation, as breaches of environmental and other legislation may result in prosecution or other action. You will also find some further information and links on our website here.

>Gold panning information

I would like to harvest seaweed from the foreshore, what do I need to know before I do this?

The Crown Estate owns the territorial seabed out to 12 nautical miles and about 55% of UK foreshore.

Hand harvesting of seaweed for any form of monetary or other reward from Crown foreshore or seabed will require a licence from The Crown Estate. The granting of the licence will be dependent upon relevant natural heritage authority (Natural England in most cases) confirmation of the sustainability of the harvesting proposal. Please visit our Seaweed Harvesting page for more information on the process for licensing.

Collection for personal use does not require a licence and we are content for such collection to proceed for small quantities. We recommend anyone doing so takes account of environmental sensitivity of collecting anything from the wild.

FAQs

Who owns The Crown Estate?