Prince William may be forced to fund Prince Harry and Meghan's lavish lifestyle after Charles becomes king
After Prince William and Kate Middleton take on the royal titles that currently belong to Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, after Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son sits on the throne of England, they might end up partially funding Harry and Meghan Markle's lavish lifestyles.
Although every active member of the royal family earns a substantial annual salary for engagements that they are expected to carry out under the Queen, Charles has set the precedent of providing his children from the fund the lucrative Duchy of Cornwall generates each year.
However, William and Kate are all set to take over the control of the fund once they assume the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cornwall when Charles becomes the king and Camilla the Queen consort.
According to magazine The Talko, the young couple will be in a unique position at then to make a decision as to whether they want to continue providing Harry and Meghan with extra funds. The outlet reported that William may want to show some "brotherly love" towards Harry by partially funding his and his wife's new life in Los Angeles, disregarding the fact that the couple quit the royal family at the end of last month, Express reported.
"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be stepping down from their royal duties but they are still part of the family. They are giving up a significant source of income and it’s expected that Prince Charles will privately subsidize their lifestyles. When Prince William inherits the rights to the Duchy of Cornwall, it’s likely that he and Kate will be responsible for helping out Harry and Meghan if they need it," the magazine reported.
According to the Sussexes' website, they had been majorly dependent on the money from the Duchy of Cornwall back when they were part of the Firm, which made up nearly 95 percent of their annual income. However, with the announcement that they will be stepping down as "senior members" of the royal family back in January, the couple also declared that in their bid to become "financially independent" they will no longer be taking any money from the Duchy of Cornwall.
However, it was not immediately clear if the pair would also reject voluntary financial help from Charles.
"Being a working member of the Royal Family can be a full-time job but it’s one that doesn’t pay particularly well. That’s when Prince Charles steps in and helps make up the difference with funds he receives from the Duchy of Cornwall. Before Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, Prince Charles was spending over $1.2 million per year to help out with expenses for William, Harry and Kate. When Prince William takes his father’s position, he’ll likely have to financially support Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis even when they’re all grown up," the outlet reported.
The Duchy of Cornwall Estate, which was first established under Edward III in 1337 and has since expanded to cover 21 counties across the southwest of England, is worth £1-billion ($1.2 billion). To prepare for his managerial role to take over the estate as soon as his father takes to the throne, William has reportedly been attending meetings to discuss the requirements for the role.
