Princess Anne is a Leo. I always forget that! Her 76th birthday is coming up on August 15th, and I’m sure we’ll see some birthday keenery in the British papers. Alongside positive birthday stories, the Mail decided to publish a somewhat shady accounting of Anne’s money. I didn’t even know she had any money? While she was given Gatcombe Park outright – her mother bought it for her – it’s not like Anne has ever worked a real job for a salary. All she’s ever done is work for the Firm. How has she accumulated an eight-figure estate?

She has long been known as the ‘hardest working royal’ – and now, experts say it may well have earned her a small fortune. Set to turn 76 next Saturday, the late Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, after 57 years of service, could be worth between £15 and £20 million, a royal author has claimed. Speaking to the Daily Mail, writer Norman Baker explained that she is not only dedicated to her duties – but is also notoriously frugal.

‘Notwithstanding her advanced years, she regularly tops the poll as the royal who carries out the most public engagements, putting younger royals like Prince William to shame,’ he said. ‘This year alone, she has visited South Korea and Thailand to strengthen diplomatic ties, attended the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, and undertaken trips to destinations as varied as Milan, Northern Ireland, and Jersey.In 2025, she notched up 478 engagements, and over her lifetime has passed the 11,000 mark. She believes in duty, and quietly gets on with her work, showing no signs of stopping.’

‘She has also over the years quietly put together a small fortune, and is thought today to be worth between £15 and £20 million. It helps that she is notoriously frugal. A satirical piece in Private Eye in 2021 has her giving gems of advice such as “a piece of Ryvita makes a perfectly acceptable starter. If you prefer something more fancy, you’re welcome to a bit of marge”.’

Norman, who penned And What Do You Do? What The Royal Family Don’t Want You to Know, the hard-hitting 2019 analysis of royal finances, said that Anne’s wealth is made up of four main elements.

‘First and foremost is her house, Gatcombe Park, given to her and her then husband Mark Phillips by the late Queen in 1976,’ he explained. ‘This Grade II listed building dates from the 1770s, and is actually only six miles from Charles’s beloved Highgrove House. The house boasts nine bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room, and a conservatory. It is thought to be worth upwards of £6 million today, though any house with a royal connection can expect to add a premium to the selling price.’

‘Besides the house, Anne has amassed over the years an impressive and expensive collection of jewellery, as indeed all female royals do. The collection, which includes a pearl necklace worth £1 million and a dazzling collection of tiaras, is estimated to be worth a further £5 million in total.’

‘Thirdly, she has her inherited wealth, benefiting from trusts established for her, most notably by the late Queen Mother. The royals take great care to ensure wealth is passed down the generations with the minimum possible amount of tax paid.’

‘Lastly, she receives from Charles, and before him his mother, a generous allowance to reflect the work she does. By the turn of the century, this was already £225,000 a year, and of course the cost of expenses such as travel are met on top of this.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Genuinely, I would love to know how royal trusts are structured and who has received what money from various other royals. Norman Baker always makes it sound like the Queen Mum left a vast estate which is still paying out significantly to her grandkids and great-grandkids. I don’t know if I believe that. I do believe that Prince Philip left a significant estate and he probably left money (perhaps via trusts) to his children and grandchildren. But really, Baker makes it sound like Anne has been pocketing Sovereign Grant money for years and that’s how she amassed a fortune. Can they do that?? I’m really asking. Anyway, my guess is that Anne owns her estate and some jewelry and maybe she’s made some arrangements for trust funds for her kids and grandkids. But out of all of the left-behinds, Anne truly seems the least concerned about money in general.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Buckingham Palace’s Twitter, Cover Images.