Prince Harry Was 'Cut Off' Financially From The Royals But Diana Left Him Millions

Why were Harry and Megan cut off financially?

During their chat with Oprah last year, the couple made several huge revelations about their life as working members of the royal family.

This included, among other things, Meghan’s mental health struggles and “concerns and conversations” about the colour of their child’s skin before he was born.

The Duchess of Sussex also opened up about an alleged feud with Kate Middleton and set the record straight about who made who cry.

Another of the revelations was that the couple were “cut off financially” from the royal family after they’d decided to take a step back from official duties.

However, Harry and Meghan were able to rely on the inheritance left behind by his mother, Princess Diana.

“... Without that we would not have been able to do this,” he explained.

How much did Diana leave Prince Harry?

According to Forbes, it’s estimated that Princess Diana left millions for both of her sons before she died.

Although estimates vary, it’s believed Harry and William eventually received around £10 million each from their late mother.

Her estate was reportedly made up of stocks and shares, jewellery, clothing, personal possessions and her multi-million-pound divorce settlement from Prince Charles.

The Independent suggests the Princess of Wales actually left an estate worth over £21 million, but £8 million was paid out in inheritance tax, leaving less money behind for her sons.

As William and Harry were 15 and 12 when Diana died in 1997, her remaining money was invested by royal advisors.

Its value had increased significantly by the time the princes were old enough to access it.

“It’s like she saw it coming and she’s been with us through this whole process,” Harry told Oprah in 2021.

What is the royal family's net worth?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the royal family is pretty wealthy.

The Sunday Times Rich List estimated that the queen’s net worth in 2020 was around £350 million pounds.

While it’s definitely a lot of money, it is a dip of around £20 million from the previous year.

The Crown Estate's annual report for 2019/2020 stated that the British royal family’s land portfolio was worth around £13.4 billion in 2021.

What is the cost of the monarchy in Canada?

In 2021, the Monarchist League of Canada issued its triennial survey on the cost of the Canadian crown. It says Canadians forked out CA$58,749,485.52 in 2019-2020 for the crown, although this figure is down from the survey before.

While it sounds like a lot, the League says the total works out to be just CA$1.55 per individual Canadian.

And it's not the working members of the royal family that are bumping up the figures, as the governor general's office costs CA$1.27 (of the CA$1.55) per person, per year. Lieutenant governors and their offices to the queen cost an additional $0.27 per capita.

What will happen to the queen's money?

Following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September, many have wondered what will happen to her money.

CTV reports that her income came from the Crown Estate, private estate, a stock portfolio and personal assets, among other things, and she is thought to have had a personal net worth of over CA$600 million.

The queen reportedly had a will which will determine who will inherit her belongings, land and money. The details of the will have not been disclosed to the public, as per protocol, although it's expected that her heir, King Charles, will inherit Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House.

It's not clear what the queen may have left to her other children, or grandchildren like William and Harry.