when King Charles III His wife, Queen Camilla, will be crowned on May 6. Coronation ceremony It will sparkle with the Crown Jewels and other historical symbols of the monarchy’s great wealth.
King Charles net worth has risen to about $2.3 billion. according to the Guardian, which said it had worked with 12 experts to carry out the first “comprehensive audit” of the king’s assets, which range from country estates to racing cars and jewellery.
Yet among his most valuable assets is something intangible: Charles’ exemption from UK inheritance tax, which would otherwise cut 40% of his inherited assets. Queen Elizabeth II’s net worth at her death last year was $500 million, largely due to her ownership of Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in England, as well as art, jewelry, investments and real estate, according to Forbes. estimated last year.
Not everyone associates Charles’ wealth with the same high valuation of the Guardian. British Sunday Times estimated His net worth is around $750 million. The Guardian noted that part of the challenge in assessing the monarch’s wealth is that many of his financial holdings have not been publicly disclosed, while other assets that may appear to belong to the monarch are in fact the property of the United Kingdom.
Live coverage of the coronation will begin at 5 a.m. ET on May 6 and is available on CBS television stations or live on CBS News and on your mobile phone or streaming device.
This is what we know about the wealth of King Charles.
Duchy of Lancaster: $820 million
The Duchy consists of a private estate owned by the King that extends over some 45,000 acres across England and Wales, and ranges from castles such as Lancaster Castle to commercial estates in the Savoy district of London.
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The Guardian reported that the property provided Queen Elizabeth with nearly $140 million in profits in the five years leading up to her death. The sprawling real estate group’s assets are estimated at $820 million.
Private jewelry: $670 million
A 94.4-carat pear-cut diamond will appear in the tiara worn by Camilla, the Queen’s consort, at the coronation — representing just one of the jewels privately owned by Queen Elizabeth that are now among Charles’ possessions, according to The Guardian.
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The Guardian estimates that the 54 privately owned gems are worth around $670 million. The diamond that will be in Camilla’s tiara is one of two gems called the “Little Stars of Africa,” both of which are usually in a brooch that The Guardian estimates could be worth more than $226 million.
the Crown jewels – Many of them will be shown during the coronation – owned by the state and not part of Charles’s fortune.
Balmoral and Sandringham: $415 million
Charles inherited Balmoral, the Scottish estate where Queen Elizabeth died last year, and Sandringham, an estate in Norfolk, from his mother.
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Balmoral, which has an area of 53,000 acres, is valued at $100 million, while Sandringham, which includes farmland and leasehold properties, is valued at $315 million.
Other royal places of the monarchy, such as Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, are not actually owned by the monarch, but by the state.
Racehorses Stamp and art collection: $190 million
Queen Elizabeth owned about 70 purebreds, the value of which was estimated by the Guardian to be $34 million.
The newspaper indicated that the king also owns a stamp collection called the Royal Stamps Collection, which is considered one of the best collections in the world. It includes rare stamps from Laos, Canada and other countries, valued at $125 million.
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The publication said the art, by artists including Monet, Chagall and Dali, is worth another $30 million.
Investments: $180 million
King Charles is also likely to have significant wealth in stocks and other investments, according to The Guardian. Those holdings are valued at $180 million, based on a 1993 research of the royal family’s shares in FTSE 100 companies. If the king continued to hold these investments, the paper said, they would be worth $150 million today.
And assuming that the crown’s private income has dwindled in the stock market over the years, it’s likely that the monarch has at least $180 million in stocks and other investments, he noted.
Rolls-Royce, Bentley and other cars: $8 million
The Guardian said it had identified 23 cars in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and Sandringham, although not all of them were privately owned by Charles.
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Among the private cars is a 1950 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, one of just 18 built by the manufacturer, and bought by Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, before her coronation. The Guardian estimates the car’s value to be around $3 million. The king’s private cars were also valued at about $8 million.
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