Why Prince Harry received monumental gift from the Queen Mother beyond the grave

On his 40th birthday in September 2024, Prince Harry received a substantial inheritance from his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 101.

The Queen Mother, before her death, had arranged for her £70 million fortune to be placed in a trust fund for her family. As part of this arrangement, Prince Harry received a significant portion of that wealth.

Reports indicate that Harry inherited £7 million from the trust fund. This gift came as a major birthday present and was a fraction of the Queen Mother’s total estate.

Interestingly, Harry is believed to have received more than his brother Prince William due to specific family financial arrangements, despite William’s closer ties to the monarchy.

This comes years after Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step back as senior royals in January 2020, giving up their HRH titles, public funding, and official duties.

The couple later moved to California, first to Los Angeles and then to Montecito, where they live with their children, Archie and Lilibet, born in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

Since his birthday, Harry has made headlines, particularly over his legal battle to restore his UK security. In April, he called the government’s downgrade of his protection a strategy to push him out of royal life. After losing his appeal, he told the BBC in May that his father, King Charles, no longer speaks to him and suggested he wouldn’t return to the UK with his family.