How much of Queen Elizabeth II's fortune will King Charles III inherit?

While newly-appointed monarch King Charles III is slated to inherit a chunk of the queen's fortune, royal inheritance isn’t as straightforward as it seems

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, breathed her last on Thursday, leaving behind a vast multi-billion dollar fortune.

While newly-appointed monarch King Charles III is slated to inherit a chunk of the fortune, royal inheritance isn’t as straightforward as it seems, Fortune explains.

We take a look at Charles’ inheritance and how much it amounts to.

The royal salary:

Queen Elizabeth II received income from a taxpayer fund known as the Sovereign Grant that allocated £86 million for 2021 and 2022 for official travel, property maintenance, and operating or maintenance costs of the Queen’s household.

The recipient of this fund, after the queen, will now be King Charles III.

The Firm:

Also known as Monarchy PLC, 'The Firm' is the unofficial title of the British royal family and its associated institutions.

Headed by senior members of the House of Windsor, the reigning royal family, The Firm holds nearly $28 billion in real estate according to Forbes and pumps hundreds of millions of pounds into the UK economy each year through tourism, televised events, and other similar activities.

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That being said, The Firm’s real estate assets that include the Crown Estate ($19.5 billion), Buckingham Palace ($4.9 billion), the Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion), the Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million), the Kensington Palace ($630 million), and the Crown Estate of Scotland ($592 million), cannot be sold and does not personally profit the royal family.

However, the role played by The Firm to boost the UK economy can generate wealth for the Windsors through free media coverage and ‘royal warrants’ or stamps on high-end products, Forbes reported.

The Privy Purse:

The private expenses of the queen and her extended family were paid out of what is known as the Privy Purse, a portfolio of properties that have been held in trust for ages, dating back to the 14th century.

The Privy Purse provides income to the monarch from the Duchy of Lancaster, which, as of March 2022, had $652.8 million of net assets under its control, and delivered a net surplus worth $24 million.

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While the net assets do not directly go to the monarch, the net surplus ($24 million in this case) is directly paid to the monarch. This amount, however, is taxed and is primarily used to cover expenses that are not covered by the Sovereign Grant.

Personal assets:

Over seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II had accumulated a vast personal fortune of $500 million, courtesy her art collection, jewellery, real estate holdings and investments.

With her now gone, these assets will be directly transferred to King Charles III, her heir. Further, this royal inheritance is not taxable and is exempt from the 40 per cent inheritance tax as per British law.

The bottom line:

While King Charles III has access to billions worth of assets and his expenses are by and large drawn from the same, he will not directly inherit the royal empire. He will only receive the personal assets directly designated for him by the late queen.