Good intentions come at a high price

PRINCE Charles is nothing if not resilient. Despite a string of setbacks at his various enterprises, he is still full of idealistic plans for environmental - and community - regeneration.

In Ayrshire, his attempt to save Dumfries House "for the nation" has left him staring into a financial black hole.

He bought the Knockroon land on the Dumfries House estate for a cut-down 268,000 in 2007, but it rapidly rose to be valued at 14.9 million at the peak of the property boom. He then used the 70-acre site as collateral against a 20m loan to fund the acquisition of Dumfries House - only to see it plummet in value to just 9m a year later. Property experts have warned it might since have dropped a further 3m.

At Poundbury, the Dorset utopian community on which the Knockroon development is to be based, residents last year began to complain about poor workmanship on their homes, saying things seemed a little "tight" at the development, which is not due to be completed until 2025.

Even the prince's iconic Duchy Originals business, which sells biscuits and other foodstuffs to supermarkets, is in the red for the first time in more than a decade, according to the latest set of accounts filed with Companies House.

Earlier this year, the prince's Foundation for Integrated Health, which promotes complementary and holistic therapies, closed after the launch of a fraud investigation into the disappearance of 300,000.