How Much Money Did Prince Harry Get From His Mother, Princess Diana, and the Queen Mother?
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, told Oprah Winfrey that he relied on the money Diana, Princess of Wales left him after the royal family cut him off financially. That inheritance became their only source of income until he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, landed their streamer deals.
But how much money did Harry get from his mother and great-grandmother? And did Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, get the same amount?
How will Meghan and Harry be financially independent?
Meghan and Harry told Oprah in their bombshell interview that they tried every avenue to remain within the royal family. Their idea was to become less prominent royals, like Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who work for the family but aren’t senior royals like William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.
They moved to Vancouver, Canada with Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in the hopes that they could continue to serve Queen Elizabeth II from there, given that Canada is part of the Commonwealth. Negotiations about their roles within the family were still ongoing when “the firm” decided they would lose their HRH titles, patronages, security, and financial support. Archie would also not be a prince, nor would he get security.
Harry said they were given “short notice” about the loss of their security. The couple was then faced with the shocking fact that they were losing protection, their income, and the world was about to go on lockdown because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. They fled to Los Angeles because Tyler Perry offered his home and security.
During lockdown, they created their company, Archewell, and landed deals with Netflix and Spotify. Before inking those deals, Meghan and Harry lived solely off of the money Diana left him in her will.
How much money did Prince Harry inherit from Princess Diana and the Queen Mother? And when could he access it?
The exact amount Diana left her sons has been in question since Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview.
The late Princess of Wales died in a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36. According to Forbes, Diana left her sons the same amount of money that was put in trust until they came of age. In 2014, Harry inherited the roughly £10 million (or $13.8 million) his mother left him. William was left the same amount.
That wasn’t the case with their inheritance from Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. When she died in 2002 at the age of 101, she left behind an estate of an estimated £70 million to $90.2 million, according to BBC. Two-thirds of the estate were left to her great-grandchildren.
Prince Harry inherited more money from the Queen Mother than Prince William
Harry and William were to split £14 million ($18 million), with Harry getting more of a share because of his place in the line of succession.
Because William will one day be king and enjoy the monetary benefits of the position, the Queen Mother instructed that Harry receive more as a safety net.
The Duke of Sussex told Oprah that he, Meghan, and Archie funded their new life in the United States with the money Diana left him.
“I had to afford security for us,” Harry said.
“[I was cut off] in the first quarter of 2020,” he continued. “But I’ve got what my mom left me and without that, we would not have been able to do this.”
He has his own thoughts about how his mother would feel about this entire Megxit ordeal.
“I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out, and very sad. But ultimately, all she’d ever want is for us to be happy,” Harry admitted. “I think she saw it coming. And I certainly felt her presence throughout this whole process.”
