Despite what you might think, sometimes being in the British royal family has its financial benefits. Prince Harry is currently enjoying a particularly nice one on the occasion of his recent 40th birthday, which The London Times reports brought with it the final part of an inheritance package valued at over $10 million on its own.
The money originally came from Harry’s great-grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who set aside what would be roughly $25 million US in a trust fund for her two great-grandchildren (Harry and older brother Prince William) back in 1994. She then divided the inheritance into two stages, one to be awarded on the kids’ 21st birthdays and the other on their 40th. Now that Harry is turning 40, he’s getting the final gift from the trust.
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When Harry turned 21, he reportedly got about $7.9 million, and his most recent inheritance is valued at $10.5 million. A source close to the royals put it this way to the Times:
“There was a trust fund set up at the time. It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way…It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them.”
Harry’s 40th fell on September 15, 2024, and the Duke of Sussex reportedly celebrated it with wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex at their home in Montecito. As to what he might be planning to use the money for, he has not commented publicly on the birthday gift from his late great-grandmother.
Precise financial details about the trust haven’t been publicized, but the Times reported that Harry was arranged to receive a larger portion of the money to balance for Prince William’s inheritance of income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which has indeed paid off handsomely.
The Post also reported on a possible birthday call to Harry from older brother and his father, King Charles, even though their relationship has been tense, bordering on estranged since Harry and Markle abdicated their royal duties and moved to California back in the early part of 2020.