Prince Harry Reportedly ‘Going Broke’ While Brother Prince William is a Billionaire

Financial status is reportedly another thing dividing brothers Prince William and Prince Harry. Since his father ascended to the throne last year, William took control of the $1.3 billion Duchy of Cornwall. He became the largest private landowner in Britain, earning him a salary estimated at $30 million a year.

“William is basically a billionaire,” a source told In Touch, “while his brother, Prince Harry, is fearful of going broke. It’s yet another reason there’s so much tension between them.”

Following the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, they were each left with about $12.4 million. Also, when Queen Elizabeth II died in 2002, both brothers were reportedly named in her $100 million will. “It was always assumed that she left them $17 million to split and that Harry got the majority as ‘compensation’ for not being in line for the throne,” said the source. 

A representative of Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, told Forbes that wasn’t the case after the couple stepped down from the royal family. “However, it’s believed that William did get the cash,” adds the source.

William also received “a very large sum of money in 2020” as a settlement with British newspapers, Harry claimed in a recent court filing in connection with the case he filed against these same media companies for phone hacking.

According to Harry, this was all part of the palace’s “secret agreement” with the press, adding that his brother had received “a favorable deal in return for him going ‘quietly,’ so to speak.”

Harry has “struggled to make ends meet” for the past three years, said the source. Having received a final allowance of around $5.6 million from King Charles in early 2020, Harry said at the time that he had been “literally cut off financially.” His memoir mentions that he had to pay all his expenses for the first time, including a $6 million security bill each year, which meant that his parents’ money wouldn’t be sufficient. 

After buying the $14 million Montecito house in 2020, the Sussexes quickly struck deals totaling $140 million for the memoir and produce content for Netflix and Spotify, “which provided a bit of a safety net,” said the source. Since then, they have parted ways with Spotify, and “there’s speculation that Netflix is unhappy as well,” added the source. “Both he and Meghan are back to scrambling to figure out how to pay the bills.”

When William becomes king, he will likely be unburdened by financial worries. Due to all the property, jewels, and other belongings left to him by the queen, Charles was estimated to be worth $2.3 billion after his coronation last year. 

“Harry can’t help but resent his brother,” said the source. “Harry has long accepted that he’s the ‘spare,’ but just like William, he also gave up a good part of his life in service to the royal family, and it seems unfair that he has nothing to show for it.”