Earlier this year, Prince Harry said his family "literally cut me off financially" in the first quarter of 2020, forcing him to depend on the money his mother, Princess Diana, had left him.
According to Prince Harry in his interview with Oprah, he and his wife Meghan were cut off financially after they decided to step down as senior members of the British royal family and move to the US. His claim that they "literally cut me off financially" created a stir, and he went on to say that he was forced to depend on the money his mother, Princess Diana, had left him to support his family, reports Washington Post.
"I've got what my mum left me and without that, we wouldn't have been able to do this," he told Oprah, according to BBC.
However, Prince Charles's official website released an "Annual Review 2021- Income, Expenditure, Staff, and Sustainability Reports," which suggests that the Prince of Wales paid his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and their families, a sum of $6.3 million.
The annual report covers the period from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, but it doesn't specify how much was given to each family. The amount was added under "Funding for the activities of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, other expenditure including capital expenditure less depreciation, and transfer to reserves."
A senior Clarence House spokesperson said the Prince of Wales had allocated "a substantial sum" to support Harry and Meghan's transition to financial independence, cites BBC.
"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."
"You are conflating two different timelines, and it's inaccurate to suggest that there's a contradiction. The duke's comments during the Oprah interview were in reference to the first quarter of the fiscal reporting period in the UK, which starts annually in April," a spokesperson for the Sussexes told reporters.
When asked about the difference in timelines, the Clarence House spokesperson said: "I wouldn't acknowledge that they are dramatically different. All I can tell you are the facts."
Now that Harry and Meghan are no longer "working royals," they are free to make their own income. Prince Harry took up a job as Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp, where he works to bring more awareness on mental health and create strategies to make a difference to individuals around the globe, according to NBC. The couple also has deals with streaming services Netflix and Spotify, and it is speculated that these partnerships are worth millions of dollars.
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-51047186
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/harry-charles-finances-royal-palace/2021/06/24/675411b0-d4ca-11eb-b39f-05a2d776b1f4_story.html
https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/annual-review/2020-2021/income-expenditure-and-staff
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57589216
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/prince-harry-start-new-job-silicon-valley-firm-n1261818
Cover Image Source: Getty Images/ (L)Photo by Jeff Spicer / (R) Photo by Tim P. Whitby - WPA Pool
