Coronation of King Charles: How much is King Charles III worth?
If King Charles III. and his wife, the Queen Consort Camilla, will be crowned on May 6th, the coronation ceremony will be resplendent with the crown jewels and other historic symbols of the monarchy’s vast wealth.
King Charles’ net worth has risen to about $2.3 billion, according to The Guardian, which said it worked with 12 experts to conduct the first “comprehensive audit” of the king’s wealth, which ranges from country estates to racing cars and jewels is enough.
However, among his most prized assets is something intangible: an exemption from UK inheritance tax for Charles, which would otherwise have cost him 40% of his inherited wealth. Queen Elizabeth II was worth $500 million when she died last year, mostly from her holdings of Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in England, as well as art, jewellery, investments and real estate, Forbes estimated last year.
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Not everyone gives Charles’ wealth the same sky-high rating as The Guardian. Britain’s Sunday Times put his net worth at around $750 million. Part of the challenge in valuing the king’s fortune is that many of his financial holdings are not publicly disclosed, while other assets that appear to belong to the monarchy are actually owned by the UK, the Guardian noted.
Live coverage of the Coronation begins May 6 at 5 a.m. Eastern Time, available on CBS television networks or live streaming on CBS News and on your mobile or streaming device
Here’s what we know about King Charles’ wealth.
The Duchy of Lancaster: $820 million
The Duchy is a private estate owned by the monarch, covering some 45,000 acres in England and Wales, ranging from châteaux such as Lancaster Castle to commercial properties in London’s Savoy borough.
Lancaster Castle, Lancashire, 2021. Damian Grady/Getty Images
The estate brought nearly $140 million in profits to Queen Elizabeth in the five years before her death, the Guardian found. The assets of the sprawling group of properties are valued at approximately $820 million.
Private Jewels: $670 million
A 94.4-carat pear-cut diamond will feature in the crown that Camilla, the Queen’s consort, will wear at the coronation – this is just one of the jewels privately owned by Queen Elizabeth and said by The Guardian now owned by Charles.
Queen Elizabeth II wears the Lesser Stars of Africa brooch to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the 2012 Diamond Jubilee. Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
Together, the 54 privately owned jewels are worth about $670 million, the Guardian estimated. The diamond that will be in Camilla’s crown is one of two gems dubbed “the lesser stars of Africa,” both of which are usually set in a brooch that The Guardian estimates could be worth more than $226 million .
The Crown Jewels – many of which are displayed during the coronation – belong to the state and are not part of Charles’ fortune.
Balmoral and Sandringham: $415 million
Charles inherited from his mother Balmoral, the Scottish estate where Queen Elizabeth died last year, and Sandringham, a Norfolk estate.
Balmoral Castle is pictured near Ballater on March 30, 2022. ANDREW MILLIGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Balmoral, with 53,000 acres of land, is valued at $100 million, while Sandringham, which includes farmland and rental properties, is valued at $315 million.
Other royal sites in the monarchy, such as Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, are not actually owned by the king but belong to the state.
Racehorses, a stamp collection and art: $190 million
Queen Elizabeth owned about 70 Thoroughbreds which The Guardian valued at $34 million.
The monarch also owns a stamp collection called the Royal Philatelic Collection, which is considered one of the best in the world, the newspaper noted. It contains rare postage stamps from Laos, Canada and other nations worth US$125 million.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II explores the collection at the Royal Philatelic Society’s new headquarters in London on November 26, 2019. TOLGA AKMEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Artworks by artists such as Monet, Chagall and Dalí are worth an additional $30 million, the publication said.
Investment: $180 million
According to The Guardian, King Charles also likely has a sizeable fortune in stocks and other investments. She estimates these holdings at $180 million, based on 1993 research on the royal family’s holdings in FTSE 100 companies. If the monarch had continued to hold those investments, they would be worth $150 million today, the newspaper said.
Assuming the crown’s private income has been invested in the stock market over the years, it’s likely the king has at least $180 million in stocks and other investments, he noted.
Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and other cars: $8 million
The Guardian said it has identified 23 cars in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and Sandringham, although not all are privately owned by Charles.
A Rolls Royce State Car is pictured at the Royal Mews in central London March 21, 2011. Dominic Lipinski/AFP via Getty Images
Among the privately owned cars is a 1950 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, one of just 18 examples from the manufacturer, bought by Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip before their coronation. The car is worth about $3 million, the Guardian estimated. It also estimated the value of the king’s privately owned cars at $8 million.
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