Prince Harry to get £7m inheritance from Queen Mother - more than William
Prince Harry is poised to receive a substantial inheritance when he turns 40, surpassing the amount his elder brother Prince William received at the same milestone.
The siblings were bequeathed a significant sum by their late mother Princess Diana after her tragic passing in 1997. However, it's Harry's forthcoming windfall that has caught public attention, originating from his late great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 101, reports the Mirror.
She allocated two-thirds of her estate into a trust for her great-grandchildren, and with the foresight that Prince William would eventually inherit the Duchy of Cornwall's riches, she chose to leave a larger portion to Harry.
Consequently, it is believed that Harry will come into £7 million on 15 September, coinciding with his 40th birthday. This development has sparked discussions, with some pondering how the Queen Mother might have viewed Harry's recent criticisms of the monarchy.
There are also reports that Prince William is discontented with the size of Harry's inheritance, especially since Harry has stepped down as a senior Royal and has openly criticised members of the Royal Family on television and in his tell-all book, 'Spare'.
A recent statement by commentator Christopher Andersen on Fox News speculated that Harry might have been excluded from the inheritance if the Queen Mother had foreseen the controversies he would stir within the family. Andersen remarked: "Of course, the prince's great-granny couldn't have anticipated all the trouble Harry caused the rest of the family. I think she would have cut him out of [the trust] entirely had she known."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped down from Royal duties in 2020, have been financing their new lifestyle in California through various projects and several significant media deals. These include their controversial interview with Oprah, a Netflix deal, and Spare.
In his 2021 conversation with Oprah, Harry revealed that these media deals were not part of their initial plan but became necessary to ensure the financial security of his family. "My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us," he stated, adding, "I've got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this."
However, according to Royal expenditure reports, Charles provided both Harry and Prince William's families with £4.5 million at the start of the fiscal year in April 2020. The report does not specify how much each prince received, but a Clarence House spokesperson clarified that Charles, then the Prince of Wales, had allocated "a substantial sum" to support Harry and Meghan during their transition out of their Royal roles.
"That funding ceased in the summer of last year," the spokesperson added. "The couple are now financially independent."
The funds Charles set aside for his sons came from the Duchy of Cornwall, which also supported the Sussexes when they were working royals. Upon Charles' ascension to the throne, the Duchy of Cornwall passed to Prince William, who now benefits from its full annual sum, nearly £23 million in the 2023-24 tax year, according to Newsweek.