Prince Louis has been driving a digger as part of volunteering efforts on the final day of Coronation celebrations.

The five-year-old, along with brother Prince George and sister Princess Charlotte, helped Scouts in Slough, while the prime minister made food in a village hall.

People across the UK are being urged to get involved in local projects such as beach cleaning and flower planting.

It is part of a drive to encourage a post-pandemic return to volunteering.

Tens of thousands of charities have been taking part in the Big Help Out, with a total of 30,000 organisations putting on 55,000 events across the UK.

The Prince of Wales has called for small family farmers in the UK and across the world to come together in a cooperative movement using sustainable farming methods, and for their plight to be at the centre of environmental action.

Small farmers, in the UK and EU, are facing their biggest upheavals in more than a generation, with the loss of farm subsidies and new post-Brexit trade deals in the UK, and sweeping reforms to the EU’s common agricultural policy to be announced this week in Brussels.

Writing for the Guardian, Prince Charles has urged small farmers to band together to cope with the coming shocks and shift to a low-carbon economy: “There are small farms the world over which could come together in a global cooperative committed to producing food based on high environmental standards … With the skills of ethical entrepreneurs and a determination from the farmers to make it work, I would like to think it could provide a very real and hopeful future.”

Farming is undergoing a “massive transition”, and the needs of family farmers must be taken into account, the prince said.

“To me, it is essential the contribution of the small-scale family farmer is properly recognised – they must be a key part in any fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition to a sustainable future. To do this, we must ensure that Britain’s family farmers have the tools and the confidence to meet the rapid transition to regenerative farming systems that our planet demands,” he said.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s death, as the Queen expressed, has left “a huge void”. Philip was the patriarchal head of “the firm”. This is the mantle Charles will now assume. This role was most symbolically underscored when Charles was the only family member to visit his father during his recent spell in hospital.

He spent 30 minutes at the duke’s bedside at King Edward VII’s hospital in London in February. What words were exchanged between father and son can only be guessed at, and are unlikely to ever be made public. But it was a sombre Charles who emerged with, according to photographers waiting outside, tears glistening in his eyes.

Charles’s siblings may take some time to adjust to his new role. “It will be difficult for them to see him the way they used to see their father,” said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine. “In my opinion, though, Charles has been pretty much the head of ‘the firm’ for quite some time. With the general decline in the Duke of Edinburgh’s health, it was a natural progression.”

“And Charles is fully consulted in all manner of things he never used to be,” added Little. “In many ways, Charles has already become his father.’

He was also involved in over 750 organisations – many of them countryside based – serving as a patron, president or member.

After his retirement in 2017, he spent a lot of his time at the secluded Wood Farm in Wolferton, Norfolk, which sits on the western edge of Sandringham Estate.

The 20,000-acre estate consists of arable, livestock and horticultural farms, as well as a country park.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) paid its tributes, describing Prince Philip as a ‘passionate supporter of rural Britain’.

“Through his Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme many thousands of young people from all walks of life were taught to respect and enjoy the countryside,” CLA President Mark Bridgeman said.

“We express our sincerest condolences to the Royal Family, and will remember with gratitude the Duke’s outstanding commitment to farming communities everywhere.”

The NFU added that Prince Phillip was a ‘great champion’ of British farming and rural communities.

Scores of complaints have been made about rented properties on royal land and tenants have faced more than 100 evictions, a Guardian investigation has found, prompting anger over how the Queen’s £14bn property portfolio is managed.

The crown estate, which helps bankroll the Queen by giving the monarch 25% of its profits, has sought to evict 113 tenants in the past five years so they can sell their homes for profit.

It comes after it has emerged on Tuesday that the taxpayer has footed a £2.4m bill to renovate Frogmore Cottage, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official residence, according to royal accounts. While the royals have no direct oversight role in crown estate’s dealings, Prince William and Prince Charles have both spoken before about the importance of ensuring good quality housing is available for all.

Figures obtained by the Guardian show that the crown estate has received more than 100 complaints about its residential properties in just two years, including grievances over rent hikes, leaks, delays in repairs and faulty electrical goods.

One evicted tenant accused the crown estate – which made £329m profit last year – of “greed”. The retired police officer, who said he was left thousands of pounds out of pocket after being evicted, told the Guardian: “The crown estate are custodians, they are not a bloody commercial estate agent. They are custodians and therefore they have a social duty to the public and their communities.”

An investigation using data obtained through Freedom of Information laws reveals that:

• The crown estate has made £1.1bn selling off more than 700 residential and commercial properties since 2014, with one private firm subsequently hiking rent well above inflation.
• More than a quarter of a million pounds has been banked by the crown estate in housing benefit from just seven hard-up tenants.
• Four tenants have sued the crown estate for breach of contract, including one claim worth half a million pounds.

The disclosures will be uncomfortable for senior royals who have previously expressed their concern over the state of private rental properties. In March, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited dilapidated housing in Blackpool and saw rain leaking through the windows of a property and holes in the ceiling. The third-in-line to the throne later said during the visit: “There is a sadder side to Blackpool,” adding: “And we shouldn’t skirt around these issues.”

A “very contrite” Duke of Edinburgh has personally apologised for his part in a car crash to a woman who was left with a broken wrist.

In a letter to Emma Fairweather, Prince Philip, 97, suggested glare from the winter sun may have been to blame for the incident as he pulled out from a side road on to the A149 near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on 17 January.

His apology emerged following widespread criticism of him and Buckingham Palace over the handling of the incident. Fairweather called the duke “highly insensitive and inconsiderate” after he was photographed less than 48 hours later at the wheel of a replacement car without a seatbelt on. She joined calls for him to be prosecuted if found to be at fault over the collision.

In a typed letter to Fairweather, seen by the Sunday Mirror, Philip wrote: “I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident at the Babingley crossroads. I have been across that crossing any number of times and I know very well the amount of traffic that uses that main road.