15 richest British royal family members’ net worths, ranked: from Queen Elizabeth’s US$100 million taxpayer income and Kate Middleton’s trust fund, to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Apple TV+ gig

Aug 7 , 2022

Prince William, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle all earn their millions from different sources – but who is richest? Photos: @dukeandduchessofcambridge/Instagram; EPA-EFE; AP; AP; Getty Images

The British monarchy may not have the level of power and influence it did in its heyday with the likes of Queen Elizabeth I and King Henry VIII, but today’s royal family – and what they get up to – remains the source of much fascination and debate.

Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Prince George, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge celebrating the queen’s jubilee. Photo: AP

From Queen Elizabeth sitting on the throne for over 70 years and celebrating her recent Platinum Jubilee, to Meghan Markle’s famous feud with her blue blooded in laws, the family is rarely out of the headlines. Living a life of luxury in Britain’s most extravagant properties, touring the world and making numerous well-dressed public appearances at events for the charities they champion, it’s no wonder their finances are scrutinised from time to time.

Queen Elizabeth has reigned for more than 70 years, and lives in some of the country’s most historic properties. Photo: @theroyalfamily/Instagram

Here, we take a look at the 15 richest British royal family members, according to Celebrity Net Worth calculations.

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8. Princess Eugenie, 32, and Princess Beatrice, 33 – US$1 million

Princess Beatrice is known for her philanthropy work and even tried her hand at acting in The Young Victoria. Photo: PA

The daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duke and Duchess of York, tie with a rather modest net worth of US$1 million each, both getting monthly allowances from the queen.

Beatrice, who’s known for her philanthropic work, had a cameo in The Young Victoria and is rumoured to be starting a fashion brand, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Princess Eugenie spent time at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and is a supporter of The RNOH Charity. Photo: @thernohcharity/Twitter

Meanwhile, her younger sis is currently a director at Hauser & Wirth gallery and is also married to a property mogul – which probably helps.

7. Prince Andrew, 62, and Camilla Parker Bowles, 75 – US$5 million

Britain’s Prince Andrew was caught up in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scandal and subsequently lost his royal titles, but until that point had done well with his property investments. Photo: AP

The disgraced Duke of York lost his official title of HRH and many other military-related honours when damning allegations of sexual assault were made against him by Virginia Giuffre, and his involvement with the late Jeffrey Epstein was revealed. Nevertheless, he’s made a few million in his lifetime through property investments, and back when he was a “working royal” with about US$320,000 per year, reported Celebrity Net Worth.

Camilla Parker Bowles grew up in a wealthy family, and is now thought to be worth US$5 million. Photo: @clarencehouse/Instagram

Prince Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has also accumulated a decent net worth since she joined the royal family in 2005. According to Good Housekeeping, most of her fortune stems from her wealthy upbringing and subsequent inheritance, having grown up in a US$2 million Sussex estate.

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6. Kate Middleton, 40, Sophie Wessex, 57, and Prince Edward, 58 – US$10 million

Kate Middleton dazzled spectators at the No Time to Die premiere, and also got to wear the most expensive royal wedding dress of all time. Photo: @markacuthbert/Twitter

Despite being one of the most famous British royals, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, ranks comparatively low on the list when it comes to her bank balance. Also hailing from a noble family, she’s still not doing badly with US$10 million.

According to Cosmopolitan, her parents’ party planning business is worth over US$36 million and her great great grandfather apparently set up a seven-figure trust fund for his descendants, which set the Middletons up nicely. Oh, and let’s not forget she also wore the most expensive royal wedding dress to date, which cost a whopping US$332,000 and was designed by Alexander McQueen, when she married Prince William.

Prince Edward actually dabbled in theatre and TV production for several years, before quitting to focus on his royal duties. Photo: @wessexfamily/Instagram

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie Wessex are also worth US$10 million each. Edward was very active in the theatre and TV production industry – even owning his own company – before giving it up in 2002 to pursue his royal duties full time.

The Countess of Wessex, Sophie Rhys-Jones, came under fire for accepting an expensive gift from Bahrain’s royal family. Photo: Reuters

Sophie, Countess of Wessex also attends official royal events, but was once criticised for accepting jewels from the Bahraini royal family, per The Telegraph.

5. Princess Diana, 36 (before her death) – US$25 million

Princess Diana’s wealth was earned almost entirely as a result of her marriage to Prince Charles, but she became famous for her charity work. Photo: @diana.princess.wales/Instagram

Lady Diana already came from an aristocratic background closely tied to the British royal family when she met and married Prince Charles. However, she was of course best known for her philanthropic and advocacy work before her untimely death in 1997.

Her net worth up to that point stemmed from her work as a royal while married to Charles, and later US$22.5 million from their divorce settlement, per The New York Times. She reportedly left the cash to her two sons, Harry and William, as hinted at in Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview.

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4. Prince William, 40, Anne, Princess Royal, 71, and Prince Philip, 99 (before his death) – US$30 million

Prince William inherited much of his current wealth from his mother, but was also a serving RAF pilot for several years. Photo: Getty Images

All three of these royals from different generations are reported to be worth around the same amount, with around US$30 million in the bank.

The Duke of Cambridge, who’s second in line to the throne after his dad Charles, inherited most of his net worth from the aforementioned money left to him by his mum Princess Diana. William was also making US$73,000 a year working with the Royal Air Force, according to Parade. Per Vanity Fair, he’s been thinking of ways to use the royal family’s properties to address homelessness.

Queen Elizabeth’s daughter Princess Anne was a trailblazer in her day, but also receives an annual royal salary. Photo: Instagram

Princess Anne is the only daughter of the queen but has become an icon in her own right, from her famous almost-abduction to being the first British royal to compete in the Olympics. She earns an annual salary from the queen and her assets include US$7 million worth of jewellery, a US$15 million home and a trust fund from her grandfather, reported Marie Claire.

Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, received an annual salary from British Parliament before his death. Photo: AP

Before his death last year after living for nearly a century, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, made his hefty net worth via an annual US$500,000 salary from Parliament and reportedly left his millions to “three key staff members”, reported Vanity Fair.

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3. Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 41 – US$60 million

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped down as working royals, instead choosing to earn money independent of the crown. Photo: EPA-EFE

Though the Sussexes have officially stepped down from their working roles in the family, the couple’s post royal lives in America remain a hot topic in Britain – though not always for the right reasons. Either way, they’ve certainly both put in the hours to achieve a whopping US$60 million net worth each.

Prince Harry at the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June – the young royal was able to move his family to the US thanks to the money his mum Princess Diana left him. Photo: Reuters

According to Celebrity Net Worth, besides the inherited fortune from Princess Diana, Harry and Meghan signed production deals worth up to US$120 million with mega-platforms like Netflix, Spotify and Apple+, with a rumoured Netflix reality show on the cards.

However, Vanity Fair reported that one of the Netflix shows – an animated series of Markle’s – was axed due to the streaming giant’s financial woes, while the Spotify gig is also on pause according to royal commentator Neil Sean, because the couple are reportedly “rethinking” their decision to work with the platform after the Joe Rogan controversies. Still, they did pull off their Apple TV+ gig with Oprah – a documentary with a mental health focus titled The Me You Can’t See featuring guests including Lady Gaga and Glenn Close.

Glamorous Meghan Markle was a star in her own right in the US before becoming a royal thanks to her acting skills. Photo: Invision/AP

In addition to all the showbiz collabs, the couple has at least 11 businesses together, according to The Independent, from Peca Publishing to Beverly Hills-based Archewell. All this adds up to their impressive net worths. And let’s not forget to factor in Markle’s acting career, which famously includes Suits and Horrible Bosses. Harper’s Bazaar reported that she made around US$2.2 million from Suits alone.

2. Prince Charles, 73 – US$100 million

Britain’s Prince Charles earns an annual income from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, among other things. Photo: PA via AP

The next King of England comes close to the current monarch in ranking, but not in wealth, though he’s still amassed an impressive US$100 million net worth. Prince Charles earns an annual income from the Sovereign Grant, but most of his money streams in from The Duchy of Cornwall, an inherited portfolio of almost 54,000 hectares of land across the UK that is used for farming, residential housing and commercial real estate, per Celebrity Net Worth – which is valued at over US$1 billion.

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1. Queen Elizabeth, 96 – US$600 million

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth doesn’t just receive taxpayer money in the UK, but receives money from her Duchy of Lancaster estate. Photo: AP

She may be 96, but the much celebrated queen is still going strong – she also has US$600 million in the bank. According to the BBC, Queen Elizabeth collected US$105 million from British taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant between 2021-2022 – the equivalent to around US$1.5 per person. It excludes the cost of Metropolitan Police security for the royals and the grant fluctuates every year.

Queen Elizabeth’s earnings as head of state amount to an incredible US$600 million. Photo: AP

The British monarch also makes an income from a private estate called the Duchy of Lancaster, which covers over 18,000 hectares of land. The BBC notes that the land generates another US$24 million a year in profits. In addition to these main revenue streams, there are the queen’s priceless jewels, private art and stamp collections. She’s even got a fleet of royal wheels to her name, including her beloved Range Rovers and a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI which was gifted to her in 1978 for her Silver Jubilee by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Long live the – very rich – queen!

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Royalty

Meghan Markle made US$2.2 million from Suits before she met Prince Harry, who, like brother Prince William, inherited millions from mum Princess Diana’s estate after her death
Aside from Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deals, Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall is valued at over US$1 billion and Princess Eugenie works in a gallery – but what about disgraced Prince Andrew?