15 Unusual Ways The Royal Family Make its Money

6The Sandringham Estate

Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham Estate is like her winter estate. She enjoys spending time there and spends Christmas over there with her family. Remember, last year Meghan Markle joined the Queen and Charles, Camilla, William, Kate and Harry for the Christmas celebrations? The Norfolk retreat of the Queen is an inherited property. The estate was bought by King Edward VII, and the Queen eventually inherited it after the death of her father King George VI. Sandringham is one of two homes which the Queen owns in her 'private capacity', and not through her title.

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7They have all the gold

They really do. Do you know the Royal family owns most of the naturally-occurring gold in the United Kingdom? In case you're lost, that is a lot of gold. This also means that the royal family has rights on the gold found on some commoner's property. In fact a few years ago, more than 2,000 people residing in the UK got notices which said that the royals can look into their property if the Queen so wished. Besides gold, the Royal family also has assets in minerals like coal, slate and silver.

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8The Balmoral Castle

The Balmoral Castle is the Scottish holiday retreat for the Royal family. The castle is also a personal property and the Queen inherited it from her father. In fact, the Queen was in residence at Balmoral Castle during Diana's death in 1997. If you've ever watched the Netflix show The Crown, you must have come across some scenes which featured the castle.

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9William has a job

It has been reported that Prince William is the first royal to ever hold a contract for a job. He works as a pilot in the East Anglian Air Ambulance, which deals with medical emergencies. He makes about $62,000. But did you know that most of the salary from his job goes to charity, and he hardly keeps any of his personal income for himself? So, he is technically working for his people.

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10Diana's money

Princess Diana left quite a hefty inheritance for her children William and Harry. They inherited the trust when they were 30, and it fetched them $13 million each. The Princes also live off an investment earning of $450,000 per year, which is a stellar amount. Besides all this, they also inherited most of Diana's jewellery, which you often spot on Kate or Meghan. For instance, the gigantic aquamarine cocktail ring which Meghan wore to her reception, originally belonged to Diana.

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