WHEN Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit as senior royals in 2020, they insisted they wanted to become “financially independent”.
And it seems the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were able to do so with a little bit of help from inheritance.
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Prince Harry inherited MORE money than his older brother from major royalCredit: AFP
The pair inherited over £20 million from their late mother, Princess DianaCredit: Alamy
Prince William, 41, and Harry, 39, received a hefty inheritance from their late mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997.
The People’s Princess left just shy of £13 million to her sons, which was reduced to £8.5 million after death duties.
This swelled to over £20 million thanks to years of savvy investments by royal advisors, with Harry and William not seeing the cash till their 20s.
But that’s not the only inheritance Diana and King Charles’ sons benefitted from.
He may be the youngest, but Harry reportedly got a bigger inheritance from their great-grandmother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, known as the Queen Mother, after she passed away in 2002.
She left an estimated £70m fortune, including works of art and house contents, to her only surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
But years prior in 1994, the Queen Mother also put two-thirds of her money into a trust fund for her great-grandchildren.
William and Harry were set to share about £14 million from the investment, the BBC reported in 2002.
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However, it was reported that the bulk of the cash went to Harry because William will “benefit financially” by becoming king.
William is first in line to the throne, while Harry is fifth in line.
He follows William’s children with Kate Middleton: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
He will be further pushed down the ranks when his nieces and nephews eventually have kids of their own.
Harry married Meghan in May 2018, with televised ceremony taking place in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
But in January 2020, the pair posted on Instagram they plan to “step back” from royal duties and split their time between Britain and North America.
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The couple revealed that they plan to become “financially independent” as they “carve out a progressive new role”.
They now have an £12.8million Californian mansion where they are raising their two children, Archie and Lilibet, which they are said to have taken out a £8.3million mortgage on.
Harry is thought to have an impressive net worth of about £48 million.
It is thought that Meghan is worth a similar amount, as the pair reportedly share their money and often take on projects together.
Before she tied the knot with Harry, Meghan was worth an estimated £3.5 million thanks to her role in American drama Suits.
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Harry and Meghan quit the Royal Family in 2020 as rumours of a divide between them and William and Kate swirledCredit: Getty