Can the British Royal Family Lead the UK’s Rewilding Revolution?
Exploring the potential and impact of rewilding on the vast landholdings of the UK’s Royal Family, from historic rainforests to ambitious climate resilience.
The British Royal Family owns and manages some of the United Kingdom’s largest and most historically significant estates. In a time of pressing climate and biodiversity crises, campaigners and members of the public are looking to the royals to take a pioneering stance on rewilding. This article explores why these efforts matter, what’s at stake, and how royal land could help shape a nature-positive future for the country.
Table of Contents
- What is Rewilding?
- The Scale and Importance of Royal Estates
- Campaigns Calling for Royal Action
- The Duchy of Cornwall: Lost Rainforests and Future Possibilities
- Precedents in Royal Land Management
- Obstacles, Controversies, and Criticisms
- Potential Benefits of a Royal-Led Rewilding
- Progress on The Crown Estate
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Rewilding?
Rewilding is a conservation approach centered on restoring ecosystems to their natural, uncultivated state, often by allowing nature to take the lead. Key elements include:
- Letting forests regrow naturally and restoring lost habitats.
- Reintroducing locally extinct native species, such as beavers, bison, or birds of prey.
- Reducing human interventions like intensive farming or artificial landscaping.
- Boosting ecosystem services such as carbon capture, flood mitigation, and biodiversity support.
The aim is to foster resilient, self-managing landscapes that support diverse wildlife while providing vital climate and social benefits.
The Scale and Importance of Royal Estates
The UK’s royal family is among its largest landowners, collectively controlling around 3,400 square kilometers of land across the nation. This includes major holdings such as:
- The Crown Estate: Legally owned by the reigning monarch for the nation’s benefit, including half the UK coastline, 200,000 acres of land, and much of the country’s seabed.
- The Duchy of Cornwall: Covering approximately 530 square kilometers (over 130,000 acres), this estate includes productive farmland, woodland, and stretches of Dartmoor National Park.
- The Duchy of Lancaster: Another significant portfolio of rural, agricultural, and urban property.
Altogether, these estates represent a substantial portion of the nation’s land—enough to make a noticeable difference to biodiversity, carbon storage, and climate resilience if managed for nature.
Campaigns Calling for Royal Action
Public campaigns have recently called on the royal family to reimagine their stewardship by embracing large-scale rewilding commitments. Two major campaigns include:
- Wild Card and 38 Degrees’ Petition: More than 25,000 people signed a pledge asking Prince William to restore key areas of the Duchy of Cornwall, such as Dartmoor, to their ecological glory by rewilding damaged habitats and boosting biodiversity.
- Chris Packham & the Rewild the Royals Campaign: Prominent conservationists and public figures delivered a petition with 100,000 signatures to the Queen and advocated for the Crown Estate to set the standard for large landowners.
What others are reading
Campaigners argue that rewilding offers a powerful tool to address the climate crisis, meet biodiversity targets, and set a high-profile example for others to follow.
The Duchy of Cornwall: Lost Rainforests and Future Possibilities
One of the most significant parts of the royal land portfolio is the Duchy of Cornwall, now under Prince William’s stewardship. Notably, the Duchy includes a vast expanse of Dartmoor, once part of Britain’s now fragmentary temperate “rainforest zone.”
- Historic Loss: Temperate rainforests, which once covered 20% of the UK, now survive only in scattered refuges due to centuries of felling and land conversion.
- Ecological Opportunity: Dartmoor and parts of Devon and Cornwall retain the humid climate necessary for rainforest revival and could become biodiversity hotspots if allowed to regenerate.
- Climate Impact: Rewilding these lands means more trees, healthy soils, and natural carbon sinks—a direct weapon against climate change.
The petition to Prince William notes that much of the Duchy remains depleted, with low woodland cover and many damaged habitats in need of restoration.
Precedents in Royal Land Management
There are signs of progress. In 2021, after persistent campaigning, the Crown Estate—an independent corporation handling royal lands—became receptive to rewilding arguments. Environmentalist Chris Packham and Wild Card representatives held positive meetings, resulting in initial commitments:
- Active collaboration with ecological experts to develop rewilding strategies.
- Plans to enhance biodiversity and access to green spaces.
- Initial steps toward species reintroductions, such as the upcoming release of beavers in the Nene Wetlands.
Campaigners view these milestones as both validation of public pressure and a sign of further potential.
Obstacles, Controversies, and Criticisms
Despite public commitments and positive rhetoric, critics note that royal actions don’t always match ambitions:
- Conservation Gaps: Only around 6% of the Duchy of Cornwall is woodland, despite the estate’s climate potential.
- Financial Controversies: Questions have arisen over where the Duchy’s finances are held and their connections to fossil fuel banks.
- Public Relations vs. Substantive Action: Skeptics question whether current sustainability programs are sufficient to shift the needle on biodiversity loss and true ecosystem restoration, or if more metrical transparency is required.
- Conflicting Priorities: Scrutiny over the Crown’s investments and comments on global population place pressure on the royals to lead by example in both words and deeds.
Even with renewed focus on clean energy (such as offshore wind farms operated by The Crown Estate) and sustainable land management, the challenge remains to move beyond partial measures and embrace truly transformative rewilding on a broad scale.
Potential Benefits of a Royal-Led Rewilding
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity Recovery | Native flora and fauna can thrive, restoring lost species and ecological balance. |
| Carbon Sequestration | Restored woodlands and wetlands are powerful carbon sinks, helping to lower greenhouse gases. |
| Flood Resilience | Natural landscapes absorb and retain water, mitigating the risks of flooding downstream. |
| Public Inspiration | Royal leadership sets a high-profile example, encouraging private landowners and policymakers to follow suit. |
| Recreation and Health | More accessible, wilder green spaces foster recreation and wellbeing for the public. |
| Economic Opportunities | Restored environments can create jobs and attract tourism based on nature experiences. |
Progress on The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate has begun incremental work on rewilding and sustainability, though advocates say much more is needed:
- Beaver Reintroduction: The planned release of beavers into the Nene Wetlands is celebrated as a key rewilding milestone. Beavers are ecosystem engineers, creating wetlands that benefit a multitude of species.
- Green Energy Transition: The Estate has moved to renewable energy sourcing—obtaining 98% of controlled energy from renewables—and is heavily invested in offshore wind power, generating 11.8 GW in 2021/22.
- Emissions Reductions: The Estate achieved a 2.5% reduction in emissions across its holdings.
While laudable, many campaigners say these steps do not go far enough. Large-scale restoration, ambitious species reintroductions, and a systemic embrace of natural climate solutions are needed to fully realize the estate’s ecological potential.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What exactly is rewilding, and why does it matter for the UK?
A: Rewilding is the restoration of land to a natural, self-sustaining state—reviving wild habitats, native species, and ecosystem processes. For the UK, where much land is highly managed or degraded, this offers a powerful tool to reverse biodiversity loss, store carbon, and increase resilience to floods and droughts.
Q: Do the royals really own enough land for rewilding to make a difference?
A: Yes. The British Royal Family controls about 3,400 square kilometers, making them among the biggest landholders in the country. Restoration at this scale could have significant national—and even international—impact.
Q: What might rewilding look like on a royal estate?
A: Rewilding may involve letting previously managed fields revert to wildflower meadows, protecting and expanding woodlands, restoring wetlands, and reintroducing species such as beavers, bison, and birds of prey.
Q: Are there any examples of royal-led rewilding in action?
A: The Crown Estate has begun moving toward rewilding, notably with its scheduled beaver release and renewable energy programs. However, campaigners urge the family to adopt more systemic and ambitious approaches across all their holdings.
Q: What challenges stand in the way of large-scale rewilding?
A: Obstacles include competing land use priorities (such as agriculture and commercial leases), financial pressures, traditional land management practices, and the need for ongoing consultation with local communities and stakeholders.
Conclusion: Towards a Wilder Royal Legacy?
As climate and nature crises intensify, the world’s eyes increasingly turn to major landholders. By choosing to champion rewilding, the British Royal Family has the chance to set a transformative example, demonstrating how power and privilege can be leveraged for the public—and planetary—good. Much depends on public pressure, transparency, and the willingness of these historic stewards to embrace a wilder, more resilient future for all.
References
- https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/02/15/rewild-the-royals-prince-william-asked-to-return-uk-estate-to-nature
- https://wildcard.land/2023/07/the-crown-estate
- https://earthlogue.jusmedia.shef.ac.uk/2023/06/02/meet-wildcard-the-rewilders-campaigning-for-the-royal-family-to-revitalise-their-estate/
- https://wildcard.land/2023/12/how-much-land-do-the-royals-own
- https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/monarchy/62141/how-the-monarchy-cashes-in-on-our-seabed
- https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/press-releases/royal-family-joins-river-restoration-across-scotland-as-films-launched
- https://novaramedia.com/2023/02/21/rewildings-green-utopia-is-just-for-posh-landowners/
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