The British monarchy is one of the oldest in the world and over hundreds of years has amassed a vast fortune. Although there is public information about the royal finances, it is difficult to accurately calculate the wealth that the now inherited King Charles IIIand how it was redistributed among members of the royal family after the death of the Queen isabel IIwhich occurred in September 2022.
King George VI of the United Kingdom (father of Elizabeth II) once said that royalty “is not a family, we are a company”. And she wasn’t kidding.
It is known that the wealth of the crown and its members are administered by a mysterious entity called ‘The Firm’ or ‘the firm’. This ‘company’, also known as Monarchy PLChas an estimated value of £21.3 billionthat is, about 28,000 million dollars at the current exchange rate, according to data from Forbes.
However, due to the enormous amount of assets and a historical secrecy regarding its assets, it is difficult to have a complete picture. Besides, most of its holdings go back several generations and have not been bought or sold for centuries.
In other words, ‘The Firm’ operates like a thousand-year-old global corporate, ranging from prime real estate in central London, to farmland in Scotland and beyond. The assets of ‘the firm’ are independent of the personal fortunes of each member of the British royal family.
Monarchy PLC not only manages the royal estate, it is also responsible for increasing it and injecting hundreds of millions into the UK economy every year; for example, with all the income from the exploitation of the image of the royalsfrom events to merchandising.
Which members of the British royal family, apart from King Charles, belong to ‘The Firm’?
In 2020, after Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal positions, the number of royals working full time for ‘the family business’ dropped to eight. Past year, ‘the firm’ expelled Prince Andrew for being related to the employer Jeffrey Epsteinwho ran a network of child sex trafficking among influential people.
After the death of the legendary monarch, only seven members remained:
- King Charles III and his wife Queen Consort Camilla, also Duchess of Cornwall.
- Prince William, next in line to the throne, and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. The couple also hold the title of Princes of Wales.
- Princess Anne, daughter of the Queen.
- Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
It is worth mentioning that the royal family is only the visible face of ‘The Firm’, since the company encompasses both public and private infrastructure, as well as the thousands of employees of the crown.
“It is an army of private secretaries, communication advisers, ladies-in-waiting, heads of households, chauffeurs, footmen, domestic servants, gardeners and all the other people who run the palaces, and the lives of the kings who live in them.” explains the New York Times.
How much is the British crown fortune?
As we mentioned, the crown owns (but cannot sell) around £21.3bn in assets. These are managed by ‘The Firm’ through The Crown Estate, a corporation that manages the monarchy’s holdings through an independent council. It also includes the assets and income of the Buckingham Palace, he duchy of cornwallhe duchy of lancaster, Kensington Palace and Crown Estate Scotland.
But how much is each entity worth? Here an estimate:
The Crown State – $19.5 billion
It is the entity that manages the monarchy’s holdings, a collection of land and possessions or, as they call it, “a unique business with a diverse portfolio that spans the entire country.” This belongs to ‘the firm’ and includes Windsor Castle. At the end of the 2022 fiscal year, it posted an estimated net income of 312.7 million pounds (almost $400 million).
In addition to Buckingham Palace ($4.9 billion), Kensington Palace ($630 million) and Crown Estate Scotland ($592 million), there are two royal ‘little plots’ worth digging into:
Duchy of Lancaster – 748 million
It consists of a portfolio of land, property and financial investments. Although the reigning monarch has access to his earnings, he has no right to the assets themselves. These belong to ‘the firm’ and cannot sell them. In 2021-2022, the Lancaster dukedom raised $21.98 billion.
Duchy of Cornwall – 1.3 billion
Although Camilla Parker is still the Duchess of Cornwall, it is currently Prince William who bears the title of Duke of Cornwall. That means that, like his father with the dukedom of Lancaster, the future king can use the proceeds, but not dispose of the assets.
How is the income of ‘The Firm’ distributed?
Of all the income generated by The Crown State, the royal family receives only 25% through the so-called Sovereign Grant. The remaining 75% goes to the British Treasury.
He Sovereign Grant it only pays for official royal expenses, such as security, events, travel, and royal engagements. The Sovereign Grant for 2022-2023 it is around 86.3 million pounds (almost 110 million dollars) according to Investopedia.
The private expenses of the reigning monarch, in this case King Charles III, as well as his immediate and extended family, are allocated through the Duchy of Lancaster, through an institution called Private Pursesomething like ‘private wallet’.
What about the personal fortunes of King Carlos III and the royal family?
The royals’ personal net worths are linked to ‘The Firm’, but only in part. One thing is the wealth that the royals possess due to their position, and another is the assets they have individually, which they have been accumulating in different ways, mainly family inheritances.
It is estimated that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, had a personal fortune of 380.7 million pounds (about $500 million) in personal assets. This has now passed into the hands of his heir, King Charles, and is made up of investments, art, jewelery and real estate, including two castles: sandringham house and Balmoral Castle.
According to reports, King Charles III’s inheritance has pushed his net worth to over £1.8bn ($2bn)as reported Guardian. This includes assets ranging from property and art to jewelry, racehorses and luxury cars.
He prince williameldest son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana, now has the Duchy of Cornwall (and all of its income), along with $1.2 billion in net assets that include the Oval cricket ground in London, King Charles’ former residence at Highgrove House, and the Isles of Scilly, it lists. Forbes. To this is added the personal inheritance of her mother, her grandmother Elizabeth and even the Queen Mother.
Now what Harry and Meghan Markle are independent, it is not clear how much their current fortune amounts to. Let us remember that the exactriz came to the marriage with more than 4 million dollars in the account, the result of her work in series such as suit. The prince also had personal assets, mostly inherited, of about $30 million.
For his part, Camilla Parker and Kate Middleton they also have totally separate personal net worths from the royal family. The first comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, while Catherine’s parents are successful businessmen.
King Charles’ plans for ‘the firm’
With the coronation of King Carlos III and Queen Camila scheduled for May 6, ‘The Firm’ could change a lot. Historian Carolyn Harris, an expert on royalty, stated that the new monarch plans to further reduce the number of members to “counter public opinion”.
The decision would be because many criticize that there are too many beneficiaries of real funds, so ‘cutting positions’ would be a way of maintain your reputation and acceptance among the British peoplevital elements for the survival of the monarchy.
On the other hand, receiving money from the crown means being responsible for public funds and not being able to do business on your own. That is, they must remain politically and commercially independent to avoid any conflict of interest. Holding royal office also implies a commitment to represent the royal family, which translates into limitations on personal freedom.
Although it would seem like a dream, not everyone wants to be part of ‘the firm’ and live off their real income. For example, now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are out and don’t have access to taxpayer money, they can conduct business independently and personally.
The couple can also talk (almost) openly about their private lives, as in Prince Harry’s new autobiographical book, titled Spare. Since they resigned from their posts royalthe still Dukes of Sussex have offered revealing interviews for Oprah Winfrey and for the controversial Netflix docuseries harry & meghan.
Mairem Del Rio Addicted to watching series and movies, doing (a little) exercise and changing my hair color. I am also a journalist, with more than 16 years of experience and dedicated 100% to digital media since 2011. I have been from a reporter and community manager, to an editor in various media and agencies. My areas of expertise are as diverse as they are contrasting: entertainment, travel, lifestyle, health, business, and finance. Now I am focused on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, metaverses and the promising cannabis industry in Mexico.