We’ve watched the lavish weddings and oohed and aahed over all best royal tiaras. We've even gotten rare glimpses inside royal estates, from Kensington Palace to Windsor Castle. But we’ve always pondered: How much is the British royal family worth? And how do they make their money?
Here, to set the record straight, a peek at the finances of everyone from Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton to Prince George.
The British royal family's current net worth hasn't been publicly disclosed, but according to a report from Forbes, it was estimated at $28 billion in 2021. That total sum included the Crown Estate (worth $19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace (worth $4.9 billion), the Duchy of Cornwall (worth $1.3 billion), the Duchy of Lancaster (worth $796 million, according to The Guardian), Kensington Palace (worth $630 million) and the Crown Estate Scotland (worth $592 million). The Guardian also revealed in 2023 that the late Queen Elizabeth had at least $835 million in personal assets, including an extensive art collection and rare jewels. All of this was passed down to King Charles III when she died on Sept. 8.
There are quite a few perks associated with the job of a British monarch. Mainly? The budget. Known as "The Firm" or "Monarchy PLC," the senior members of the royal family are the public faces of this massive empire (which explains why they reap the financial benefits). As king, Charles, 74, is at the top of the Firm.
According to an April 2023 report from The Guardian, which worked with 12 experts on a "comprehensive audit" of the king's assets, many of his financial holdings aren't publicly disclosed. However, the Duchy of Lancaster is currently worth a cool $796 million, which accounts for a huge portion of his net worth. The king inherited Balmoral and Sandringham, worth an estimated $403 million, from his mother, as well as her private jewels, art, horses, cars and stamps, which the publication's experts estimate are worth $835 million.
But not all of King Charles's riches come from his inheritance. The royal built significant wealth through investments, which The Guardian estimates are worth $172 million.
Altogether, experts report that the monarch is currently worth roughly $2.2 million (or £1.82 billion). NBD.
Even before she joined the royal family, Camilla Parker Bowles was pretty well off. According to The Independent, Bowles's grandparents left her a sizable inheritance of more than $610,000. Not only that, but she also owns Ray Mill House—a spacious Wiltshire property that she purchased for more than $1 million in 1996.
The queen, 76, also made a significant amount of money from the Duchy of Cornwall, the $1.3 billion estate she previously shared with the king, according to Forbes. (The property has since been passed down to Prince William.) CNN reported in 2018 that the royal couple made $28 million from the estate that year.
While her total earnings haven't been revealed, the royal's total worth has been estimated between $5 million and $40 million, thanks to book royalties and her estates. One report estimates that she also earns a salary of $6 million in the form of a Sovereign Grant.
After his father became king, Prince William's net worth skyrocketed, thanks to the Duchy of Cornwall—the 1.3 billion-dollar real estate portfolio he inherited from King Charles. According to Bloomberg, this alone gives him $28 million per year in personal income.
The prince's reported net worth also includes a nearly $11 million inheritance from his mother Princess Diana’s estate, which he received upon turning 30, according to Fox Business. In addition, William, 41, reportedly got a hefty sum when his great-grandmother passed in 2002, though the exact amount hasn't been disclosed. He collected his own salary as an air ambulance pilot to the tune of $62,000, according to CNBC, though he donated that to charity.
While other outlets have reported William's wealth to be between $100 million and $1.3 billion, Money reported in 2022 that William was worth roughly $40 million.
Long before she was a princess, Middleton, 41, was exposed to wealth, thanks to her parents’ party supply store called Party Pieces. (It has since gone bankrupt, according to Marca.) In 2018, it was reported that her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, had a combined net worth of about $67 million, thanks in part to their inheritance, real estate investments and racehorse prize money.
As for Kate, her inheritance from the late queen could account for a big part of her net worth. In 2022, Radar Online reported that the princess would likely receive $110 million in jewelry from the queen after her passing, including 300 personal pieces that belonged to the late monarch and are separate from the crown jewels. That would make her net worth far higher than the $10 million that is widely reported.
Apart from her rumored jewelry inheritance, her other net assets are unknown. However, according to the official royal website, the Duchy of Cornwall provides an annual income of roughly $25.5 million to the Prince and his family, which includes Kate and their three kids.
Although Prince Harry has multiple income sources, the majority of his bank account stems from his inheritance.
The prince, 39, inherited $10 million from his late mother's estate according to Forbes, and he reportedly made between $50,000 and $53,000 as a member of the Royal Air Force. Additionally, Harry reportedly received a $20 million advance for his tell-all memoir, Spare, which sold over 1.4 million copies on its release day.
Since Harry and his wife Markle, 42, stepped down as “senior” members of the royal family in February 2021, they've since pursued other ventures. In 2020, they signed lucrative deals with Spotify and Netflix, the latter of which was worth a whopping $100 million, according to Forbes. While they're still making content for Netflix, the royal couple parted ways with their multi-million dollar Spotify deal in July 2023.
While multiple sources have reported that Markle and Harry are worth $60 million combined, Forbes's report from 2021 tells a different story. As mentioned above, the prince received $10 million from his mother and $20 million from Spare. With Markle's $2 million in after-tax earnings, that adds up to $32 million. However, according to the news outlet, the royal couple spent $14.7 million on their estate in Montecito and an additional $3 million in repayment for renovations for Frogmore, which would leave them with a net worth of roughly $14.3 million.
Lest we forget, Meghan was a working woman pre-royal life and brought in roughly $2 million according to Forbes in aftertax earnings from her work in films and shows like Suits on the USA Network, which she starred in for close to seven seasons. Before she deleted her social media accounts, Markle used different platforms as another source of income. She had a lifestyle website called The Tig, which she shut down in April 2017.
The Duchess of Sussex also shares a portion of her sky-high net worth with her husband, Prince Harry. As we mentioned above, while some reports have estimated their shared net worth at $60 million, thanks to their previous deal with Spotify and current partnership with Netflix, Forbes estimates that it's closer to $14 million.
According to the BBC, Markle currently earns her income through the Sussexes' shared media company, Archewell Productions. While it's unclear how much she has earned in total, she has worked on multiple successful programs for Netflix, including the Harry & Meghan docuseries.
The net worth of Prince William and Kate Middleton's children hasn't been confirmed, but we do know their impact on the royal economy. Reader's Digest reported in 2022 that Prince George is worth $3.6 billion, Princess Charlotte, $5 billion and Prince Louis, between $70 million to $125 million.
As it turns out, when George, 10, Charlotte, 8, or Louis, 5 are associated (even unofficially) with a British brand, sales skyrocket. And according to the publication, the princess's net worth is the highest because of her fashion influence. (Slay, Charlotte!)
The net worth of Harry and Meghan's children also hasn't been confirmed, but in 2019, a retail expert predicted that Archie would boost the U.K. economy by bringing in approximately $1.47 billion in the first two years.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director of the Center for Retail Research, told Hello! that profits from souvenirs and memorabilia following his birth would likely be between $61 million and $85.5 million. He said, "These sales will be made in the U.K. and Europe, but Harry and Meghan are followed in the US, and we expect significant sales there also."
While some outlets report his net worth to be around roughly $10 million, News Corp Australia placed Edward's combined net worth with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, even higher (around $17 million in 2022).
In 1993, Prince Edward, 59, dabbled in TV production, starting a television company called Ardent Productions, but it only ran for 16 years. Still, the prince inherited a share of the Sovereign Grant, which is now owned by King Charles, according to i24 News. However, his wealth comes primarily from his home, his trust funds and his valuable furnishings in Bagshot, where he currently resides.
