Cut off? What about Diana’s millions?
PRINCE HaRRy claimed that his decision to sign lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify came about because: ‘My family literally cut me off financially.’
Even Oprah seemed taken aback by this revelation, and queried the Prince. ‘Wait a minute . . . your family cut you off?’ she asked.
‘yeah,’ replied Harry. ‘In the first half, the first quarter of 2020,’ adding: ‘But I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this.’
For emphasis he said of Diana: ‘I think she saw it coming. and I certainly felt her presence throughout the whole process.’ This claim raises several points. First: once Harry, a family man who was approaching middle age, decided to opt out of being a ‘working royal’, there was no obvious reason why his family should have continued to provide him with financial support.
Second: he was not exactly ‘cut off’. Instead, according to informed sources, he received a lump sum from Prince Charles in late March 2020 (towards the end of the 20192020 financial year) after announcing his decision to step aside.
This, we are told, was a sum of ‘many hundreds of thousands of pounds’. It seems to have been made over to him not as a final pay-off, but to meet the costs of his new life in america going forward. In other words, it was money for the year ahead, until, as a source puts it, ‘they sorted themselves out’.
additionally, we are told, it was made clear to the couple there would be more resources — if required — in the next financial year.
So what is the truth about Harry and his money? The simple fact is that — thanks to his family — he is a very rich man in his own right. Indeed, almost his every expense, until a year ago, was met by Prince Charles.
as a result, he has barely had to touch his considerable personal savings until now.
His fortune derives from Princess Diana’s £21 million estate. after attracting £8 million inheritance tax, the balance of almost £13 million was split evenly between William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 when she died in 1997.
The money was invested for the boys by royal advisers, with Harry’s share thought to be worth at least £12 million.
He was also a beneficiary of his great-grandmother the Queen Mother’s will. Known as the Queen Elizabeth Trust Fund this, we understand, provided him with £2 million.
Meghan also has a reported personal wealth of £3 million.
However, the couple’s decision to buy a vast home in an exclusive enclave has left them needing to earn more. Or, as one aide puts it: ‘No one told Harry he had to spend £11 million on a mansion with 16 bathrooms. That was his choice.’