How rich are the Windsors?
Very. The bulk of the money that
supports the House of Windsor—
sometimes called The Firm—flows
through the reigning monarch,
Queen Elizabeth II. She has three
sources of income. First, she receives
an annual payout of taxpayer money
called the Sovereign Grant, which
last year yielded $107 million.
Second, she gets the profits from a
vast land portfolio called the Duchy
of Lancaster, which has been in the
royal family since the 13th century
and includes several castles, large
tracts of rural land in England and
Wales, and the Savoy Estate, a
patch of prime real estate in central
London. Last year the duchy brought
in around $28 million. Finally, Her Royal Highness has signifi-
cant inherited personal wealth and a large investment portfolio of
unknown size. The Sunday Times (U.K.) recently estimated her
wealth at $482 million. Her son Charles, the Prince of Wales, has
his own funding stream from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he
inherited at age 3, when his mother became queen. That duchy
includes extensive property holdings that yielded $28 million last
year, some $6.5 million of which went
to his sons, William and Harry.What is the Sovereign Grant?
Until 2012 the monarch received
a fixed annual payment called the
Civil List. It was replaced by the
Sovereign Grant, which is a percent-
age of the profits from the Crown
Estate, a massive property portfolio
that includes swaths of London’s West
End and holdings across the U.K.,
as well as half the U.K.’s shoreline.
The Sovereign Grant covers palace
upkeep, official travel, and the Royals’
household staff, which numbers over- The money doesn’t cover security
costs, which are considerable. Whether
the Royals represent a good deal for
taxpayers is a matter of sharp debate.
In the early 1990s pressure built to
lower their overhead, which among
other things led to an agreement that
the Queen and Prince of Wales would
pay income tax and sell the royal
yacht. But the firm Brand Finance has
calculated the Royals’ worth to the
U.K.’s economy at $2.3 billion, pri-
marily because they serve as a magnet
for tourism; help sell souvenirs, news-
papers, and other news products; and
provide plotlines for films, books, and
TV shows. “They’re like a giant PR
campaign for the U.K.,” said David
Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance.
Are there other holdings?
The Queen personally owns
Sandringham House, her country
retreat in Norfolk, and Balmoral
Castle in Scotland, which was
bought by Queen Victoria in 1852.
She owns (though she can’t sell)
the Royal Collection, comprising
thousands of paintings, tapestries,
photographs, books, metalworks,
and other artwork and artifacts, and
the Royal Philatelic Collection, one
of the world’s largest stamp collec-
tions. The Crown also lays claim to
all unmarked swans in open waters,
a decree dating to a time when swan
meat was coveted, and all whales,
sturgeon, and porpoises within
3 miles of the U.K. shoreline.What does ‘the job’ of a Royal entail?
The role of the Queen and her family is to bolster Britain’s
“national identity, unity, and pride,” according to the royal web-
site. In practice, that means various members of the royal family
take part in some 2,000 engagements each year, including state
banquets, luncheons, receptions, ribbon cuttings, and garden par-
ties. (When Prince Philip retired in
2017, it was calculated that he’d
attended 22,191 events, giving 5,
speeches.) Royals also make visits
to service members at home and
abroad, serve as patrons for orga-
nizations, and assist charities. Some
operate their own charities, such as
Charles’ Prince’s Trust, which helps
disadvantaged young people.Do the Royals rule the U.K.?
In practice, the Queen exerts no
meaningful control over Britain’s
constitutional monarchy, but she
does hold a symbolic role and a
number of specific powers. The
Queen’s approval, or Royal Assent,
is required for an act of Parliament
to become law. (No assent has been
denied since 1708.) She appoints
the prime minister after an election
and meets with him or her weekly,
offering counsel. She can also sum-
mon and suspend Parliament and is
officially the military commander in
chief, with the sole power to declare
war. The Queen can bestow knight-
hood and other honorary titles, grant
pardons, and reduce prison sentences.
She last exercised that power in
2001, when she ordered the release
of two inmates who had rescued a
prison worker from an attack by a
wild boar.Briefing NEWS^11
Queen Elizabeth with sons Edward, left, and Charles in 1968How the Royals get their money
Ge
tty
Harry and Meghan’s valuable brand
For Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, stepping
away from royal duties means giving up taxpayer
funding, but the couple is not likely to feel it much.
Public money from the Sovereign Grant, they have
estimated, has covered only 5 percent of their
operating costs; the rest comes from Harry’s father,
Prince Charles, and his Duchy of Cornwall. In the
royal separation agreement announced last week,
Charles will continue to fund his son and daughter-
in-law for a year, as they seek to become “finan-
cially independent.” Harry has considerable inher-
ited wealth on his own: His mother, Diana, left him
an estimated $13 million, and he was bequeathed
many millions more by his great-grandmother, the
Queen Mother. Then there’s the estimated $5 mil-
lion Meghan has banked from her television work.
They’ll now have to pay rent on Frogmore Cottage,
their U.K. residence, and repay the $3.1 million in
taxpayer funds spent to renovate the home. But
the couple has sought a potentially valuable trade-
mark on the name “Sussex Royal” and will appar-
ently seek to generate their own income—possibly
through book deals, speaking fees, fashion prod-
ucts, and various product endorsements. “Harry
and Meghan’s break from the royal family may
just be the marketing move of 2020,” said Kevin
Mercuri of Propheta Communications, a public
relations firm specializing in branding. “The fact
that the Sussex Royal brand was born of Harry’s
love for his wife and son will not go unnoticed by
North American consumers.”Harry and Meghan’s defection has put a spotlight on the finances and inner workings of Britain’s royal family.