Getty The British royal family as a net worth of billions of dollars.
The Royal Family’s net worth is in the billions of dollars, but much of the family’s great fortune is tied up in properties that the family members would never be able to sell. Still, members of the Royal Family are quite wealthy in their own right, and they, in the most prominent cases, derive annual incomes from those properties.
What is the Royal Family’s net worth? How much is the Royal Family worth?
Royal Family Net Worth: $88 Billion
Estimates have pegged the Royal Family’s net worth at about $88 billion. That’s misleading, though, only because the family can’t sell much of its vast landholdings, and the figure includes the family’s power as a brand. You can’t put a for sale sign on Buckingham Palace, for example. However, the senior members of the royal family are still sitting pretty on a massive fortune, and they derive millions of dollars in income each year through those properties and other ventures.
The queen, who is the wealthiest member of the royal family, earns millions of dollars a year from what is called the “Crown Estate.” Although she can’t sell the vast landholdings within the Crown Estate, Queen Elizabeth II reaps an annual income from its management. This is in addition to wealth she personally inherited from her father, the late King of England.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Queen Elizabeth II Net Worth: Half a Billion Dollars
Portrait of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with their baby daughter Princess Anne and son Prince Charles, following the baby’s christening at Buckingham Palace, London, October 21st 1950. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II is said to be worth about $425 million, although some sites say she is worth about $550 million. When her father died, Elizabeth inherited castles and other properties. For example, according to House Beautiful, the Queen owns the $65 million Sandringham House and $140 million Balmoral Castle because she inherited them from King George VI, her father. She also receives what is called a “sovereign grant” and also money from the Duchy of Lancaster.
GettyBritain’s Queen Elizabeth II (Centre Foreground) and Prince Philip (Right Foreground) are joined at Clarence House in London by Prince Charles, (Left Foreground) Prince Edward, (Right Background) Princess Anne (Centre Background) and Prince Andrew (Left Background) on the occasion of a dinner hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to mark the forthcoming Diamond Wedding Anniversary of The Queen and The Duke, 18 November 2007.
“The Sovereign Grant is conditional — the Queen surrenders all profits from the Crown Estate, a massive collection of land and holdings in Wales, Ireland and Scotland, in exchange for 15% of the Crown Estate’s net revenue from two years prior,” House Beautiful reported, noting that this has given the queen as much as $48 million a year and the cut was raised to pay for Buckingham Palace renovations.
According to BBC, the Crown Estate “is an independent commercial property business and one of the largest property portfolios in the UK. Most of the portfolio is made up of residential property, commercial offices, shops, businesses, and retail parks.” The money from the Crown Estate goes to the treasury, but the Queen is then given a percentage of it back as income. Once Charles is crowned as King, it’s expected he will gain this income too.
2. Prince Charles Net Worth: $100 Million
Prince Charles’ net worth is in the area of $100 million, The Richest has estimated. That makes Charles about one-fourth as wealthy as his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The full name of Charles, 69, is Charles Philip Arthur George. The Prince of Wales, Charles stands as heir to the British throne. He is married to Camilla Parker-Bowles, who was the bane of Princess Diana before she died.
Charles was born with many titles. According to his website, Charles, in addition to being the Prince of Wales, holds the titles of “The Duke of Cornwall under a charter of King Edward III in 1337; and, in the Scottish peerage, of Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.”
The prince’s website notes: “The Prince of Wales, eldest son of The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Buckingham Palace at 9.14pm on 14th November 1948, weighing 7lb and 6oz.”
In this photo, Queen Elizabeth II and her family are traveling to Sandringham in the back of their car, with Prince Andrew on her lap, the Duke of Edinburgh to her left with Princess Anne on his lap, and Prince Charles (right) waving, arriving at Liverpool Street Station, London, January 27th 1966.
Although his net worth is generally given as about $100 million, some sites have put Charles’ net worth at anywhere from $400 million to $1 billion. The Royal Family is notoriously private about its finances, which can make determining its members’ exact net worth difficult. Charles’ assets are linked integrally to the Duchy of Cornwall.
“The Duchy of Cornwall has £1 billion, or $1.3 billion, in total assets,” reports Time. According to The Richest, “The Duchy of Cornwall is a 200-square mile of land set in 23 counties. It includes agricultural (Duchy Originals), residential (Poundbury), and commercial properties.”
GettyPrince Charles is at the top of the line of succession, followed by his son Prince William. Harry is now sixth in the line.
Although he doesn’t technically own the property, Prince Charles derives a lot of money from the Duchy of Cornwall, the vast estate that he earns income from – in one recent year, he received £16.6 million, or $22.9 million, from the Duchy of Cornwall.
3. Prince William & Prince Harry Net Worth: $40 Million Each
Prince William (centre) and his best man Prince Harry (left) are greeted by Receiver General Stephen Lamport (right) as they arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England.
Princes William and Harry also receive money from the Duchy, and the Duchy of Cornwall spent about $9 million on them and Prince Charles collectively over the past two years for public activities. According to the Duchy of Cornwall financial statement, “the majority of staff and official and charitable activities, including the official offices of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, are paid for from His Royal Highness’s private income from the Duchy of Cornwall.”
Picture of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales with Prince Charles of Wales at their wedding at St Paul Cathedral in London in this file photo dated 29 July 1981.
When the Princess of Wales died in Paris, she made sure that her sons, William and Harry, would be well cared for, bequeathing them both millions of dollars. Princess Diana’s estate is believed to have been about $28 million. Her sons received equal portions of her estate when they turned 30-years-old (Prince Harry is 33 and William is 35.)
That means both princes each received about $14 million from their mother. According to Esquire, Harry “started receiving annual dividends from investments when he turned 25, valued at $450,000 a year” from Diana’s estate. Some estimates put the amount each prince received at $13 million.
The Queen Mother also left Harry an inheritance when she died, but it’s not clear exactly how much. The Royal Family is very private about its finances.
Harry and Williams also inherited their mother’s jewelry collection together. Prince Harry also earned a small annual sum in the military.
4. The Net Worth of Other Members of the Royal Family Is Also In The Millions of Dollars
GettyBritain’s Queen Elizabeth II (Centre Foreground) and Prince Philip (Right Foreground) are joined at Clarence House in London by Prince Charles, (Left Foreground) Prince Edward, (Right Background) Princess Anne (Centre Background) and Prince Andrew (Left Background) on the occasion of a dinner hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to mark the forthcoming Diamond Wedding Anniversary of The Queen and The Duke, 18 November 2007.
There are many other members of the Royal Family, of course. How much are they each worth? Here’s a rundown of some of the senior royals’ net worth:
Prince Andrew net worth: $82 Million. Stock market investments, property, and restaurants have contributed to Andrew’s vast wealth, according to The Richest.
Princess Anne net worth: $100 million.
Prince Edward net worth: $45 million.
Prince Philip net worth: $30 million. Because he’s married to the queen, Prince Philip receives about $442,000 a year from the “sovereign grant” for his expenses.
Some sites put the net worth of Prince George and Princess Charlotte in the billions of dollars, but these estimates largely derive from their value as brand influencers and to British tourism.
5. The Royal Family’s Wealth Is Tied to Its Value as a Brand
GettyThe Queen at Christmas Day services 2017.
The Royal Family has a host of “tangible properties” that include Buckingham Palace, the Royal Collection of art, the Crown Jewels and the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall account, according to Brand Finance, which did a calculation of the family’s net worth, and put it at the $88 Billion figure.
Brand Finance noted that much of the family’s worth derives from its power as a brand, according to Forbes.
The report claims “that most of the royal worth is found in its brand. The family’s added value to tourism, business trade and even fashion, among other sectors, is calculated at $55 billion,” reported Forbes. The other $33 billion came from Brand Finance’s estimate of the worth of the family’s tangible properties.
See Also:
- Prince Harry’s Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
- Meghan Markle’s Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
- Prince Charles’ Net Worth: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Check out all of Heavy’s coverage of the royal wedding.