Queen Elizabeth Amassed a $500M Net Worth, but Does It All Go to King Charles III?
The late Queen Elizabeth II amassed a net worth upwards of $500M over 70 years on the throne. This fortune includes assets, property, art, and jewelry. However, will her son, King Charles III, inherit the bulk of her estate? Will he have to divide it with his siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Edward and Andrew?
How does the monarchy makes its fortune?
Also known as The Firm, the royal family impacts the British economy and its own assets through tourism and media coverage. The Firm refers to an elite group of seven royals: King Charles III, his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles; Prince William, Kate Middleton, Princess Anne, the queen’s daughter; Prince Edward, the queen’s youngest son, and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
According to a 2021 report from Forbes, the crown hold nearly $28 billion in assets. However, they cannot sell these holdings. The list includes the Crown Estate ($19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace (estimated $4.9 billion), the Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion), the Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million), Kensington Palace (estimated $630 million) and the Crown Estate Scotland ($592 million). The Royal Collection art holdings and the Crown Jewels also factor into the monarchy’s wealth.
Forbes estimated Queen Elizabeth has another $500 million in personal assets. How that fortune will pass to King Charles III has become a point of speculation.
Is Prince Charles III the sole heir of Queen Elizabeth’s fortune?
“I am deeply grateful for the Addresses of Condolence by the House of Lords and the House of Commons, which so touchingly encompass what our late Sovereign, my beloved mother The Queen, meant to us all.”
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 12, 2022
The King’s reply to the addresses of condolence at Westminster Hall:
Fortune reported the late queen left over $500 million in personal assets to her firstborn son, King Charles III. The royal will reportedly inherit that sum when he is formally crowned king of the United Kingdom. The late queen’s assets include investments, art, jewels, and real estate, including two castles: Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle.
Like other royals, King Charles earned income from the royal family’s properties without technically owning them. And since the Royal Collection is tied to his position as King, Charles cannot sell the art collection. Therefore, it does not account for his personal wealth.
King Charles’ private expenses for himself and his extended family are paid via an allowance through the Duchy of Lancaster called the Privy Purse.
However, it is yet unknown if the late queen left a private will that provided for her three other children and their families.
Prince William is now the Duke of Cornwall as well as the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales
Now that his father Charles is King of the United Kingdom, Prince William, the heir apparent, was handed his father’s prior role as the Duke of Cornwall.
According to the Prince of Wales’s official website, The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate established by Edward III in 1337 to provide an income for the heir to the throne. Charles has run it since 1969. It gives the royal an income, and the estate also supports the communities who live and work there.
The Duchy of Cornwall owns land in the United Kingdom in over 23 counties. Fortune notes that Prince William now inherits $1.2 billion in real estate as part of his new title.
The amended title adds to William’s other titles, including the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales.
