Prince Charles spent up to £5.6 million ($7.1 million) last year to support his two grown-up sons, Princes William and Harry, as well as their wives, the annual review from Clarence House, Prince Charles's official London residence, revealed.
It is not clear how much of this went to Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as the review has not provided a breakdown on the expenses.
“The majority of staff and official and charitable work, including the official offices of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are paid for from His Royal Highness’s private income from the Duchy of Cornwall,” the report says.
The numbers have been calculated for a period from April 2019 to the end of March 2020, when the lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic started in the United Kingdom. The amount is 11% higher than the year before.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles’s own “non-official expenditures” for the same period also increased by £45,000, reaching £3.2 million ($4 million) last year. Queen Elizabeth’s son reportedly spends this money on personal assistants, chefs, farmers and other stuff. His official Duchy of Cornwall income is estimated to be £22.2 million ($28 million) annually.
When the Sussexes resigned their royal duties this year to move to the United States, it was rumoured that Prince Charles would cover part of their security expenses, after US President Donald Trump made it clear that his government had no intention to shell out for their protection in America. A spokeswoman for the couple later said that they were not even considering funding from the US government and would pay for their security out of their own pocket – but with a little help from Prince Charles.
The couple have also recently repaid £2.4 million ($3 million) for the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor, which was supposed to be their home in the United Kingdom. However, in January, the Sussexes announced that they would step down from their senior royal positions to live a “financially independent” life between the United Kingdom and North America.