Charles became Britain’s King after Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday (September 8) at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle, her home in Scotland.
Besides the throne, King Charles III will also inherit Queen’s private fortune—without having to pay inheritance tax.
Queen Elizabeth II is leaving behind over $500 million in personal assets from her 70 years on the throne. Notably, the British monarchs are not required to reveal their private finances.
But the Sunday Times Rich List 2022 found that the Queen was worth some £370 million ($426 million), up £5 million from the previous year.
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A massive chunk of the Queen’s personal wealth will pass to the King intact and he will not have to pay inheritance tax.
The Crown Estate lands and the Royal Collection of art and jewellery, plus official residences and the Royal Archives are held by the monarchy as an institution and they will only pass to Charles in trust.
Similarly, the Crown Jewels, which are estimated to be worth at least £3 billion, only belonged symbolically to the queen and are automatically transferred to her successor.
The Queen’s private wealth will be added to King Charles III’s own. As per celebritynetworth.com, his wealth has been estimated at some $100 million.
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The Sunday Times reported that Elizabeth’s late husband, Prince Philip, left an estate worth £10 million, including an art collection of some 3,000 works. Reports mentioned that most of it was given to family and friends.
On one side, King Charles III inherits the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate of commercial, agricultural and residential assets owned by royalty since the Middle Ages.
On the other hand, he will lose the Duchy of Cornwall, another private estate, in southwest England. It will go to Charles’ eldest son, Prince William, who is now heir to the throne.
Importantly, the monarch is entitled to use his/her income and largely uses it to meet official expenditure. In the financial year 2021-22, it delivered a net surplus of £24.0 million.
As per Forbes, the monarchy holds nearly $28 billion in real estate assets as of 2021, which includes, The Crown Estate ($19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace ($4.9 billion), The Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion), The Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million), Kensington Palace ($630 million), The Crown Estate of Scotland ($592 million).
King will receive grants and profits
King Charles II will receive the annual Sovereign Grant from the UK Treasury, which is set at 15 per cent of the profits from the Crown Estate.
The Sovereign Grant covers costs of official engagements for the monarch and other senior members of the royal family, paying the salaries of their staff and the upkeep of royal palaces.
In 2021-22, it was set at £86.3 million, equivalent to £1.29 per person in the UK, and included funding for the renovation of Buckingham Palace.
(With inputs from agencies)
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