All the wealth of Queen Elizabeth bequeathed to Charles and Camilla
Queen Elizabeth II was the richest woman in the world. Here's what is known about secret wills. Franco Bechis' article for Verità & Affari
With the death of Elizabeth II the new King Charles III, and the Queen consort Camilla inherit a heritage that Forbes has estimated at 90 billion euros net.
Elizabeth II was in fact the richest woman in the world, even if all her possessions are not known exactly. The 90 billion estimated by the American magazine, however, are divided among the various members of the royal family, and have accumulated over the decades thanks to the substantial inheritance left to the Windsors from the various bequests of their ancestors.
Each legacy is shrouded in secrecy for at least a century, and so it was also for the will of Philip, the wife of Elizabeth, who according to some estimates would have left her assets worth approximately 35 million euros. In July, however, The Guardian was able to consult 33 wills on which the bond of secrecy had recently fallen.
Although they were more lateral members of the royal family, bequests to the crown of 215 million euros emerged, all in the availability of Elizabeth. The Queen also had an annual prerogative paid to her by the British Parliament to carry out her "work" in peace, which will now be available to Charles and Camilla.
In 2021, the prerogative exceeded the equivalent of 100 million euros for the first time. In addition to the salary to the Queen and therefore now to the King with his wife, the “Privy Purse”, the income from the properties of the Duchy of Lancaster, also arrived. These are four funds, always paid since 1399: one financial, one agricultural, one commercial and one residential.
On the Duchy website itself it is written: "At the end of March 2022, the Duchy of Lancaster had 652.8 million pounds of net assets (equal to 750 million euros) under its control, with a net surplus of 24.0 millions of pounds. These are real estate and financial activities. The real estate activities can be broadly divided into agricultural, commercial and residential and include some of the historical rights of the duchy on the coast and on minerals ”.
The proceeds from the Crowne Estate, directly owned real estate assets that are valued at around 15 billion euros according to the latest estimates, also go to life at the reigning Windsor. In addition to palaces, castles and various houses, there are more than 100,000 hectares of property, including cultivated ones. The annual income of the Crowne Estate amounts to approximately 500 million euros, in the full availability of those who sit on the throne.
Among the various possessions that must not be shared with other branches of the family are the Crown Jewels, rigorously guarded and protected by sophisticated security systems in the Jewel House inside the Tower of London built in 1066 by King William. Their market value is difficult to estimate, but they are valued in the assets in any case for a non-trivial figure: 4.3 billion euros.
Among the real estate owned directly there is also the Scottish castle of Balmoral, where yesterday at the age of 96 the Queen died. It is the traditional summer residence of the rulers and is valued at around 150 million euros. More than double the estimated € 70 million for the Sandringham winter residence, where the royal family usually spend the holiday season.
Overall, therefore, from the various properties owned, the new King Charles with his Camilla will be able to count on an annual liquidity of about 700 million euros, which can obviously be invested according to the indications of the King.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/carlo-camilla-eredita-regina-elisabetta/ on Fri, 09 Sep 2022 13:10:14 +0000.