British Royal Family Net Worth: Queen Elizabeth Would Pass Down Billions To Prince Charles

Queen Elizabeth II returned to the public eye Wednesday after two weeks in seclusion as she recuperated from what officials called a “heavy cold,” prompting many to wonder whether the 90-year-old monarch’s reign might soon come to an end.

In the wake of a more unfortunate end to her reign, Elizabeth’s son Prince Charles is likely to inherit the throne, but the position of Great Britain’s figurehead isn’t all the current ruler would leave behind. Her personal wealth, as of April, was estimated to be a total of $84 billion, according to a report by the consultancy firm Brand Finance. Her immediate family benefits not only from the housing and services that come from their royal status, but quite a bit of untaxed income as well. Read on for a catalogue of the royal families extensive assets.

The Crown Estate: $14.8 billion

The Crown Estate, an independently-managed business belonging to the monarch for the duration of her reign, includes Regent Street, Windsor Great Park, seabed, farmland and half of the St. James’s district in London, among other retail properties. The Treasury receives its revenue surpluses, of which the queen receives a so-called “Sovereign Grant” of about 15 percent. That amount is channeled toward hospitality, administrative and security services for the royals in Buckingham Palace. Its portfolio value rose 9.7 percent to 12 billion pounds, or $14.8 billion dollars, as of June.

The Duke of Edinburg’s salary: $442,000 (per year)

Her husband, Prince Philip, receives an annual annuity of 359,000 pounds, or just over $442,000, “to meet the expenses of carrying out his public duties in support of the queen,” according to a U.K. government information site.

Balmoral and Sandringham Estates: $205 million (estimated)

The Balmoral castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, tenderly referred to as “the Scottish home of the royal family,” and other properties that make up the Balmoral estate, are estimated to be worth about $140 million, while the Sandringham House and its gardens in Norfolk, England, which was opened to the public by King Edward VII more than a century ago, has an estimated value of $65 million, Lenka Duskova of the Czech real estate agency Luxent told Forbes in April. Their actual value remains undisclosed.

Buckingham Palace: $2.8 billion

In April, the British estate agency Foxtons estimated the value of the royal family’s 774-room London residence to be nearly 2.3 billion pounds, or $2.8 billion.

Royal Art Collection: $25.9 billion

Described by its official website as “a unique and valuable record of the personal tastes of kings and queens over the past 500 years,” the Royal Collection, managed by the Royal Collection Trust, is also “held in trust for the nation” by the reigning monarch “for her successors.”

In the Brand Finance report projected the market value of the collection to be about 21 billion pounds, or nearly $26 billion.

Racehorses, china, jewelry, Faberge eggs and more art: at least $86 million

While some of the art included in this inheritance is now part of the larger collection described above, Elizabeth II inherited 70 million pounds, or $86 million, worth of valuables after her mother Elizabeth, Duchess of York, died in March 2002.

The inheritance included pieces by Jean-Claude Monet, which would go on public display at the Buckingham Palace, as well as shares for Princes William and Harry totaling to about 14 million pounds, or $17.24 million. Elizabeth did not pay any of the U.K.’s 40 percent inheritance tax, as a law allows an exemption for estates passed from sovereign to sovereign.

Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall: hundreds of millions (as of 2013)

The queen earned about 12.5 million pounds, of $15.4 million, in private income from her hereditary rural estates making up the Duchy of Lancaster, spread between England and Wales, in 2013, bringing its value to 428.3 million pounds, or $527.5 million. Her son, Prince Charles, made much larger gains of 19 million pounds, or $23.4 million. Neither paid capital gains taxes on these assets.