Prince Harry to get £8million gift for his 40th birthday – after Queen Mother set aside inheritance 30 years ago
PRINCE Harry is set to inherit an £8million gift on his 40th birthday from the Queen Mother.
The late Queen Elizabeth began collecting a sizable trust fund for the Duke of Sussex, who will celebrate his special milestone on September 15, when he was just 10-years-old.
As reported by The Times, the Queen Mother, 94 at the time, put aside a generous tax-free £19million in 1994 to leave to her great-grandchildren.
The inheritances were divided into two installments, one payment when the royals turned 21, and another on their 40th.
A former Palace aide told The Times: “There was a trust fund set up at the time.
“It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way.
“It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them.”
However, Palace insiders believe Harry could have been left more money than his estranged brother William.
Sources suggested the differing sums may have been based on the Queen Mother’s assumption Wills would be entitled to a larger fortune from the Duchy of Cornwall as future heir.
William became Duke of Cornwall when he was anointed Prince of Wales after King Charles ascended the throne.
He is thought to have gained £23.6million through inheriting the estate.
Meanwhile, other royals thought to be part of the Queen Mother’s trust fund include Princess Anne’s children Zara and Peter Phillips, as well as Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.
Princess Margaret’s children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto are also believed to be beneficiaries.
The Queen Mother passed away in 2002 and the details of her will were shrouded in secrecy.
A statement released by Buckingham Palace read: “Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother has bequeathed her entire estate (which mainly comprises the contents of her houses) to The Queen.
“In her will, she asked The Queen to make certain bequests to members of her staff, and these bequests will be subject to inheritance tax in the normal way.
“The Queen has decided that the most important of Queen Elizabeth’s pictures and works of art should be transferred to the Royal Collection.”
It comes after reports suggested Prince Harry was “angry” and longing to return home to lap up the admiration Prince William and Princess Kate receive.
But, pals of the 39-year-old have been at pains to point out that there is no “blueprint” for plans to return home.
The prince quit Britain in 2020 and jetted to California with wife Meg where they now live with their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
The couple have recently launched their new project The Parents Network to help support families who have lost their children to online harm and abuse.
Meghan is still continuing with the roll out of her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard – although she has faced a major blow to operations.
I know why Prince Harry is a big-time loser in America – and here’s how he can turn it around
By Matt Wilkinson and Jon Rogers
PRINCE Harry is a big time loser in America but he can still turn it all around, a royal photographer has said.
Legendary royal snapper Arthur Edwards told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that Harry was a “somebody” in Britain before leaving it all behind for a new life in California.
The royal is now “just another celebrity in a town full of celebrities,” Edwards told the show, which is hosted by the paper’s royal editor Matt Wilkinson.
Mr Edwards said: “I think he thinks he’s bigger than he actually is.
“I also think Meghan [Markle] doesn’t want to come here anymore, He comes back but she never comes with him.
“What really upsets the King is the fact that he’s never going to see his grandchildren [Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet].
“The little boy and girl should be playing with their cousins.
“They should be here enjoying the life of the Royal Family.
“Instead of that, they’re stuck in their house in Montecito and they’re just celebrities in a town full of celebrities.
“Here, he was somebody and there, just another celebrity, in my view.
“He’s the loser, big time.”
Also appearing on the show was Dick Griffin, the late Queen’s former police officer, who said: “This morning, I read that before he went [to America] he was the most popular royal and now, he’s gone right down, almost at the bottom of the list.”
Talking about the Duke of Sussex’s court battle to get the Home Office to pay for his security, Mr Edwards added: “He’s got to start seeing things as they really are and he’s no longer welcome here, it seems.”
Addressing the recent debate whether or not Harry wanted to make a return to the UK, the photographer added: “He’s going to have to make a big, big, big act of contrition in my view, to the King, before he gets back because, quite frankly, they’re frightened to have him with them because any conversation they have could be in the next TV programme they make.
“They’re not prepared to do that anymore.
“I always believe in the parable of the Prodigal Son – everything’s possible – but at the moment it doesn’t look likely.”
At the end of August, Prince Harry came back to the UK to attend the funeral of his uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, who was his mother Diana’s brother-in-law.
Harry’s brother Prince William also attended but the siblings were not seen talking to one another.
They were said to have sat apart at the back of the church in Snettisham, Norfolk.
The brothers have barely spoken to each other since Megxit, when Harry and wife Meghan quit royal duties for a new life in the States.
Harry and William, 42, went on a walkabout at Windsor after the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022 but have not been in the same room since the King’s Coronation more than a year ago.
Speculation has also been building in recent days that Harry has asked former aides to help him plan a comeback from his US exile and spend more time in Britain.
Harry is said to be consulting people “from his old life” after growing frustrated with American PR experts.
Harry reportedly plans to spend more time in the UK in a bid to repair his relationship with King Charles.
The strategy could see a “rehabilitated” Harry stage a partial return to royal life.
But insiders said Harry and Meghan are not seeking a permanent return from California.