Harry and Meghan Markle to inherit chunk of Prince Philip's $42.4M fortune: Source
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99, has reportedly left behind an estimated £30 million ($42.4 million) fortune. Philip, per a royal insider, has paid a final thank you to the “three key men in his life by leaving them money in his will”. But even Harry, the Duke of Sussex will reportedly inherit his share, despite his troubled relationship with the royal family in the past year, following "Megixit".
As per reports, while the majority of his estate is likely to have been left to the Queen, a source close to Buckingham Palace told tabloids that the Duke of Edinburgh has also rewarded his closest aides. “Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him,” the insider said. “These include his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, his page William Henderson, and valet Stephen Niedojadlo.”
READ MORE
'Are you a prince?': Kate Middleton's reply during interaction with school kids goes viral
Miller-Bakewell was the Duke of Edinburgh’s private secretary, working for him for more than a decade. He started working for the Prince in 2010 and was Philip’s most senior and trusted aide. Miller-Bakewell represented the Duke at numerous official events when the Prince was unable to attend. He was also responsible for managing his diary and organizing his public events until the Duke retired in 2017. A source had once described him as “charming, old school, Establishment -- and completely wet”.
Henderson and Niedojadlo reportedly took turns to be with him during his stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate. Henderson was the one with him during his last two days at Windsor.
But that’s not all. The insider also claimed that Philip’s grandchildren, including Harry will have been “sorted out quite a while ago” when it came to money. The source said, “Philip was not the sort of character to punish a grandson [Harry] for misbehaving. He was a very fair, even-handed, and lovely man. Never held a grudge. Philip had plenty of time to sort out all the legal stuff so it wouldn’t attract inheritance tax. He was no more of a fan of leaving his cash to the Treasury than anyone else.”
Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have had a frayed relationship with the royal family for some time now. The two distanced themselves from their royal duties and moved away from England completely at the start of 2020.
Earlier this year, in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, they made allegations of racism and harassment meted out to Meghan in the royal household. Since then, their relationship with the family has been increasingly tense.
As per royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, Prince Philip felt that Harry and Meghan’s controversial tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey was “madness”. Someone close to Philip told the biographer that “he thought Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey was 'madness' and 'no good would come of it'.” The biographer added that he was not surprised “because that is exactly how he described to me the earlier personal TV interviews given by Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, back in the 1990s.”
The source said that Philip’s children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew, have been told they can “take what they want” from his collection of 13,000 books in his library at Buckingham Palace. The insider said that upon his return from the hospital, Prince Philip spent time signing photographs of himself which were placed in frames with his cipher on them and are believed to have been intended as gifts to those who looked after him.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace, however, declined to comment on the contents of the will and said, “This is a personal matter for the family and as such arrangements are private.”