Prince Harry set to inherit millions in the coming weeks but it has nothing to do with his commercial ventures

The Duke of Sussex is expected to inherit millions of dollars in the coming weeks in a major boost to his personal fortune.

Much has been made about the finances of Prince Harry since he and wife Meghan stepped down from working royal duties to become financially independent.

But the duke's latest monetary windfall isn't connected with his commercial endeavours.

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Instead, Harry is due to inherit money left to him by his late great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.

When Queen Elizabeth died in March, 2002, the bulk of her estimated £70m wealth (approximately $140m) was put into a trust fund for her grandchildren.

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At the time, Prince Harry's share was estimated at about £7m (approximately $14m), The Times UK reported.

But until now, he's been unable to access the money.

The Queen Mother is believed to have grown her wealth from her vast collection of paintings (including a Monet), china and jewellery (including a necklace that belonged to Marie Antoinette).

When she died, three of her four homes that were owned by the Crown Estate passed to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. They are now overseen by King Charles III.

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But much of her wealth was also earned through savvy investments over her long life.

According to The Guardian, the Queen Mother placed two-thirds of her fortune, an estimated £19m (approximately $37m), into a trust fund for her great-grandchildren in 1994.

According to the rules of the trust fund, its beneficiaries had to wait some time before they were able to inherit the money.

Prince William and Prince Harry were due to share about £6m when they turned 21 and the other £8m released to them once they reached 40.

Prince Harry will celebrate his 40th birthday next month, on September 15. Prince William turned 42 in June.

The younger of the two brothers was left the bulk of the money, reportedly to compensate for not becoming sovereign.

Prince William, as Prince of Wales, receives the majority of his personal wealth from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he inherited from his father upon the late Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.

That extensive estate is worth more than £1 billion (approximately $1.8 billion) and includes 52,450 hectares of land, mostly in the south-west of England.

As the holder of the title, Prince William benefits from the estate's surplus profits which were £24.48 million (approx. $45 million) in 2022-23.

The Queen Mother's trust also included money left to Princess Anne's children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips and Prince Andrew's daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Princess Margaret's children David Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto were also set to receive bequests running into several millions each.

Prince Harry is expected to welcome his great-grandmother's monetary bequest, particularly in light of his recent legal battles.

He's been in and out of court relating to claims of phone hacking and also over a bid to have his personal security reinstated when back in the UK.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a five-year $100m deal with Netflix soon after cutting ties with the royal family in 2020.

Meghan's Archetypes podcast, which premiered on Spotify as part of a reported $20 million deal, ended in 2023 after just one season.

While the lucrative deal collapsed prematurely, the couple does have other sources of income.

Meghan recently launched her much-awaited lifestyle venture, American Riviera Orchard which includes the sale of jams, cutlery, nut butters and cookbooks.

The couple are reportedly working on two series with Netflix focused on gardening, cooking and polo.

According to Deadline, the first series will see Meghan "celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship".

The second series, expected to include Prince Harry, will be based on professional polo.

"It will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level," Deadline reported.

Both will be the latest projects by the couple for Netflix since their controversial six-part documentary Harry & Meghan, released in late 2022.

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