The financial perks of being a senior royal
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The Sovereign Grant is a fund that supports the British royals in pursuit of their public duties. It is this funding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, according to a statement on their website, propose to reject in favor of “financial independence.” What Harry and Meghan do not disclose is the fact that, according to USA Today, 95 percent of their expenses are covered by Prince Charles, and there’s evidently no plan to reject those daddy donations.
According to Page Six, however, Prince Charles has threatened to cut the purse strings should they couple step away from the royal family completely, although father and son remain in negotiations regarding future financing. While the queen’s recent announcement regarding the “Megxit” scandal sounds conciliatory as she states,“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” there are still reportedly issues to be resolved, including those of just how the couple’s lifestyle is going to be funded.
Where do senior royals live?
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Currently, most senior royals reside either at Windsor Castle or Kensington Palace (via Business Insider). While the Sussexes shared Kensington Palace digs with Will and Kate up until early last year, they eventually moved to the more private Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Despite their current plans to move to Canada (Meghan is already there), the couple do not plan to vacate the Sovereign Grant-funded, Crown-owned cottage. According to their website (via Architectural Digest), they plan to keep as their UK pied-à-terre “so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom.” Some readers of the UK daily The Telegraph, however, are less than pleased with this news, preferring that Harry and Meghan pay back the British taxpayers for their use of the residence, or at least pay a hefty rent.
How will the Sussexes survive?
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Even if Harry and Meghan were really determined to do without funding from any royal sources, they wouldn’t be short a pound or two. Harry inherited quite a bit from both his mom and his great-grandmother, and Meghan didn’t do too badly out of her starring role in the USA Network series Suits.
Whatever financial independence looks like to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it’s unlikely that standing in the dole queue is going to be necessary, nor will they need a GoFundMe to buy baby Archie a new pair of shoes.
Here’s What Being A Senior Royal Actually Means
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In the rather turbulent wake of the Instagram announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that they would be “stepping back” from their roles as senior members of the British royal family, many of us are left wondering, what the heck does that even mean, and how is it possible?
According to Town and Country, the term “senior royal” is “something of a nebulous descriptor, and one that has not been officially defined by the British royal family.” Typically, though, senior royals are considered to be those adult members of the royal family, along with their spouses, who are closest to the throne according to the line of succession. Currently, the list of senior royals includes Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and yes, despite the announcement, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Prince Harry hasn’t removed himself from the line of succession and is still sixth in line to the throne (via Town and Country). As The New York Times puts it, “Announcing a plan to ‘step back’ from being a senior royal is sort of like declaring an intention to recuse oneself from being famous.”
According to Town and Country, the term “senior royal” is “something of a nebulous descriptor, and one that has not been officially defined by the British royal family.” Typically, though, senior royals are considered to be those adult members of the royal family, along with their spouses, who are closest to the throne according to the line of succession.
Currently, the list of senior royals includes Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and yes, despite the announcement, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Prince Harry hasn’t removed himself from the line of succession and is still sixth in line to the throne (via Town and Country). As The New York Times puts it, “Announcing a plan to ‘step back’ from being a senior royal is sort of like declaring an intention to recuse oneself from being famous.”
What are senior royal duties?
The financial perks of being a senior royal
Wpa Pool/Getty Images
The Sovereign Grant is a fund that supports the British royals in pursuit of their public duties. It is this funding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, according to a statement on their website, propose to reject in favor of “financial independence.” What Harry and Meghan do not disclose is the fact that, according to USA Today, 95 percent of their expenses are covered by Prince Charles, and there’s evidently no plan to reject those daddy donations.
According to Page Six, however, Prince Charles has threatened to cut the purse strings should they couple step away from the royal family completely, although father and son remain in negotiations regarding future financing. While the queen’s recent announcement regarding the “Megxit” scandal sounds conciliatory as she states,“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” there are still reportedly issues to be resolved, including those of just how the couple’s lifestyle is going to be funded.
According to Page Six, however, Prince Charles has threatened to cut the purse strings should they couple step away from the royal family completely, although father and son remain in negotiations regarding future financing. While the queen’s recent announcement regarding the “Megxit” scandal sounds conciliatory as she states,“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” there are still reportedly issues to be resolved, including those of just how the couple’s lifestyle is going to be funded.
Where do senior royals live?
Currently, most senior royals reside either at Windsor Castle or Kensington Palace (via Business Insider). While the Sussexes shared Kensington Palace digs with Will and Kate up until early last year, they eventually moved to the more private Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Despite their current plans to move to Canada (Meghan is already there), the couple do not plan to vacate the Sovereign Grant-funded, Crown-owned cottage. According to their website (via Architectural Digest), they plan to keep as their UK pied-à-terre “so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom.” Some readers of the UK daily The Telegraph, however, are less than pleased with this news, preferring that Harry and Meghan pay back the British taxpayers for their use of the residence, or at least pay a hefty rent.
How will the Sussexes survive?
Pool/Getty Images
Even if Harry and Meghan were really determined to do without funding from any royal sources, they wouldn’t be short a pound or two. Harry inherited quite a bit from both his mom and his great-grandmother, and Meghan didn’t do too badly out of her starring role in the USA Network series Suits.
Whatever financial independence looks like to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it’s unlikely that standing in the dole queue is going to be necessary, nor will they need a GoFundMe to buy baby Archie a new pair of shoes.
Whatever financial independence looks like to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it’s unlikely that standing in the dole queue is going to be necessary, nor will they need a GoFundMe to buy baby Archie a new pair of shoes.
