- The Queen's historic 70-year reign wasn't entirely funded by taxpayers.
- She profited from a land trust called the Duchy of Lancaster, as well as estates and artwork inherited from her father.
- The Sunday Times estimated the Queen's net worth to be $442.92 million (£340 million) in 2016.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II — who ascended to the throne 70 years ago and died at age 96 on Thursday — wasn't as rich as you might think.
Elizabeth II had a net worth of $442.92 million (£340 million), The Sunday Times estimated in 2016. That's vastly more than any other members of the Royal Family, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have a shared fortune of $30 million, Insider previously reported.
Following the Queen's death, Prince Charles became King Charles III and replaced his mother as the reigning monarch and owner of the Crown Estate.
Here's how the British royal family makes their fortune.
Every year, the Royal family gets a chunk of cash from taxpayers called the Sovereign Grant.
It comes from the treasury and is funded by taxpayers, according to the BBC.
The basic agreement is that the royal family gets the grant in exchange for surrendering all profits from the Crown Estate — the family's massive portfolio of properties — to the government. Every year, the reigning monarch is given an amount of money equivalent to 25% of the Crown Estate's profits.
The Grant totaled $107.1 million (£82.2 million) in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Sovereign Grant pays for property upkeep and utilities, the family's travel, and royal employee payroll, according to official royal family financial reports. But The Telegraph notes that the grant doesn't cover costs of security and royal ceremonies — that money comes from a few other places.
The reigning monarch's private income is called the Privy Purse.
That money comes from the Duchy of Lancaster — a portfolio of land and other assets that's been in the royal family for hundreds of years. It contains $715 million (£548.6 million) worth of net assets (including 18,433 hectares of land) and is made up of residential, commercial, and agricultural properties, Wall Street Journal UK correspondent Max Colchester reported.
It brought in $27 million (£20.7 million) in 2019, according to The Journal. According to the royal family website, this sum helps with costs not covered by the Sovereign Grant — namely, it's used to pay "expenses incurred by other members of the royal family."
The Queen also had other valuable assets that added to her net worth.
The Queen also outright owned Balmoral and Sandringham Estates, an expansive art collection, and other valuable assets that had been passed down from earlier monarchs, Wall Street Journal's Colchester said on an episode of The Journal's What's News podcast.
The unknown total value of Her Royal Highness' property makes it difficult to estimate her total net worth, according to The Journal. A royal finance expert did tell The Journal that the royal family members are "millionaires, not billionaires."
In 2016, The Sunday Times estimated the Queen's net worth to be $442.92 million (£340 million).
The King had a major income stream of his own while he was still Prince Charles
The Duchy of Cornwall — yet another suite of properties owned by the royal family — covered the expenses of Prince Charles and his heirs. That means Harry and Meghan, William and Kate, and their children were all covered by the Duchy of Cornwall, too. Charles paid them a combined $6.5 million (£5 million) in 2019, according to The Journal.
The Duchy paid Charles $28.1 million (£21.6 million), The Journal reported. Its total value is $1.2 billion (£923.8 million).
Prior to her death, the Queen and the Prince of Wales effectively controlled most of the royal family's fortune and divvied out payments to support other family members, The Journal reported.
Royals who work for the Crown full time aren't allowed to earn any money from outside sources, however.
That rule doesn't apply to Meghan and Harry, as they transitioned to a "progressive new role" within the royal family.
Royal commentators previously told Insider the couple would likely use book deals and speaking engagements to fund their luxurious tastes going forward. They said even though Harry has never had a job outside of his military service, it likely wouldn't take much effort for them to start raking in multimillion-dollar paychecks.
"We could easily compare them to any former presidents," Meinzer said. "My mind keeps going to Barack and Michelle Obama and how [they] make money. The reason I compare the two is that they're already friends with each other and I would put them on the same level in terms of fame."
Indeed, it was announced in 2021 that Harry had agreed to a deal to write his memoirs. Vanity Fair reported in February that the couple had actually signed a $20 million deal for several books.
Harry and Megan have also signed production deals with Netflix and Spotify that have been speculated to be worth millions.
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