Prince Charles DIDN'T axe Prince Harry's cash, accounts show

Prince Charles DIDN'T axe Prince Harry's cash, accounts show
Prince Charles DIDN'T axe Prince Harry's cash, accounts show

Prince Charles bankrolled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by a 'substantial sum' in the months following Megxit, despite Harry claiming his family 'literally cut me off financially'.

Royal accounts made public for the first time yesterday show that the future king continued to fund Harry and Meghan until the summer of last year from a £4.4million Clarence House pot used to support his two sons and their families.

This contradicts Harry's remarks when he told Oprah Winfrey that he stopped getting financial support from his family in the 'first quarter' of last year.

He even claimed he and his wife were reduced to living off what 'my mother had left me'.

Details of Charles's continued financial support for his estranged younger son came as both Clarence House and Buckingham Palace opened up their yearly financial accounts. 

Prince Charles bankrolled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by a 'substantial sum' in the months following Megxit, despite Harry claiming his family 'literally cut me off financially'. Pictured L-R: Charles, Meghan and Harry during Trooping the Colour in 2018

Prince Charles bankrolled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by a 'substantial sum' in the months following Megxit, despite Harry claiming his family 'literally cut me off financially'. Pictured L-R: Charles, Meghan and Harry during Trooping the Colour in 2018

Royal accounts made public for the first time yesterday contradict Harry's remarks when he told Oprah Winfrey that he stopped getting financial support from his family in the 'first quarter' of last year. He even claimed he and his wife were reduced to living off what 'my mother had left me'. Pictured: Harry (left) and Meghan (centre) with Oprah Winfrey (right) during their explosive interview which aired in March

Royal accounts made public for the first time yesterday contradict Harry's remarks when he told Oprah Winfrey that he stopped getting financial support from his family in the 'first quarter' of last year. He even claimed he and his wife were reduced to living off what 'my mother had left me'. Pictured: Harry (left) and Meghan (centre) with Oprah Winfrey (right) during their explosive interview which aired in March

The newly-public accounts show that Charles continued to fund Harry and Meghan until the summer of last year from a £4.4million Clarence House pot used to support his two sons and their families. Pictured: Prince Charles at a roundtable event for The Prince's Trust Group in June 2021

The newly-public accounts show that Charles continued to fund Harry and Meghan until the summer of last year from a £4.4million Clarence House pot used to support his two sons and their families. Pictured: Prince Charles at a roundtable event for The Prince's Trust Group in June 2021

Clarence House's annual review revealed that Charles's bill for the activities of both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – plus other expenditure including the prince's capital expenditure and transfer to reserves in 2020/2021 – was £4.4million.

This was a fall of £1.15million – around 21 per cent – from £5.6million in 2019/2020 – the last year the Sussexes were working royals.

How pandemic helped cost of travel plummet 40% 

The cost of royal travel to the taxpayer plummeted over the past year as, along with the rest of us, the family's wings were clipped.

Spending on official trips fell from to £5.3million to £3.2million, a reduction of almost 40 per cent.

The most expensive single trip was a £58,993 overnight visit by the Prince of Wales who flew by private jet to pay the nation's condolences following the death of the Emir of Kuwait last October.

Second was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's £47,965 Christmas UK tour on the Royal Train to thank frontline staff and those who had gone above and beyond for their communities during the pandemic.

Charles and Camilla's official visit to Germany amounted to £42,486, while the Queen ran up a bill of £32,791 flying to and from Balmoral, her Scottish home, by private jet last summer.

Royal aides point out that foreign tours are conducted at the request of the British Government, which sees the Royal Family as an important tool in its use of 'soft diplomacy'.

Officials warned yesterday that, while the bill would rise again when travel restrictions eased, there would be more of an emphasis on having a 'blend' of in-person and virtual engagements in the future.

One senior royal aide said building relationships in person still very much mattered, but, in terms of both costs and the environment, it made sense to adapt to a more digital way of working where possible.

 

Advertisement

The report provided no detailed breakdown of the figures and royal aides declined to elucidate further. 

But what is clear from the independently audited accounts is that Harry and Meghan were still listed as receiving money from Charles's Duchy of Cornwall income, despite quitting the monarchy at the end of March last year.

A senior Clarence House spokesman said: 'As we'll all remember, in January 2020 when the duke and duchess announced that they were going to move away from the working Royal Family, the duke said that they would work towards becoming financially independent. The Prince of Wales allocated a substantial sum to support them with this transition. That funding ceased in the summer of last year. The couple are now financially independent.'

The spokesman added: 'I betray no confidence when I say they've been very successful in becoming financially independent.' And when quizzed on the discrepancy in Harry's remarks, the spokesman said: 'I wouldn't acknowledge that they are dramatically different. All I can tell you are the facts.'

Harry and Meghan have signed multi-million-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, with the duke telling Miss Winfrey he secured these to pay for his family's 'security'.

Yet he claimed that when the couple moved to North America, he only had what Diana had left him – £7million at the time – and 'without that we would not have been able to do this'.

In the couple's explosive interview with Miss Winfrey in March, Harry gave a typically emotional description of his situation, saying: 'My family literally cut me off financially and I had to afford security for us... in the first quarter of 2020.

'But I've got what my mum left me – without that we would not have been able to do this.

'I think she [my mother] saw it coming. I certainly felt her present throughout this whole process.'

The couple emigrated first to Canada and then to California, where – despite their apparent penury – they bought an £11million family home in

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen