How Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family make their millions – and how ‘independent’ Prince Harry and Meghan will fund their luxurious tastes
As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle transition to new ‘progressive’ roles, this is how the Sovereign Grant, the Privy Purse and the Duchy of Cornwall fit into the picture
All the talk about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle becoming financially independent makes you wonder how wealthy the British royal family really is.
Queen Elizabeth has a net worth of US$442.92 million, derived from a grant from taxpayers and two additional income sources, The Sunday Times estimated in 2016. That’s still more than the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have a shared fortune of US$30 million, Business Insider previously reported.
Here’s how the British royal family makes its fortune.
Every year, the queen gets cash from taxpayers called the Sovereign Grant.
The basic agreement is that the queen gets the grant in exchange for surrendering all profits from the Crown Estate – the family’s massive portfolio of properties – to the government. Every year, the queen is given an amount equivalent to 25 per cent of the Crown Estate’s profits.
The Grant was US$107.1 million in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Sovereign Grant pays for the family’s travel, palace upkeep and utilities, and royal employee payroll, according to official royal family financial reports. But The Telegraph notes that the grant doesn’t cover costs of security and royal ceremonies – that money comes from a few other places.
The queen’s private income is called the Privy Purse. That money comes from the Duchy of Lancaster – a portfolio of land and other assets that have been in the royal family for hundreds of years. It contains US$715 million worth of net assets (including 18,433 hectares of land) and comprises residential, commercial and agricultural properties, The Wall Street Journal correspondent Max Colchester reported.
It brought in US$27 million in 2019, according to the publication. According to the royal family website, this sum helps with costs not covered by the Sovereign Grant – namely, it’s used to pay “expenses incurred by other members of the royal family”.