Peek inside King Charles III’s $25 billion property portfolio

Real Estate

Team MONEYME|02 November 2022| 2-minute read

When we think of the British monarchy, most of us think of Buckingham Palace. But, on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III inherited much, much more than that.

In fact, his property portfolio—worth at least $25 billion—is one of the biggest overseen by a monarch in the world.

Famous palaces, castles and landmarks

Among King Charles III’s best-known properties are seven palaces, 10 castles, 56 cottages and 14 ruins.

The most famous is undoubtedly Buckingham Palace, London. It’s worth around $5 billion and contains 775 rooms. Usually, the monarch lives here, but it looks like King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will remain at nearby Clarence House (worth $72 million), where they’ve lived since 2003.

Nearby is the Tower of London, built 1,000 years ago and valued at $1.1 billion. It’s here that King Henry VIII had three of his wives executed and 2.5 million people flock each year to see the Crown Jewels, worth $4 billion.

Other famous spots in the monarch’s collection include Hampton Court Palace ($1.2 billion), where Henry VIII lived with one after the other of his six wives in the 1500s; Windsor Castle (c. $740 million), the biggest and oldest occupied castle in the world; and Stonehenge.

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Lesser-known property

In addition to these, the monarch reigns over more than 17 million square feet of retail space, as well as a significant swathe of the UK’s natural environment. The latter includes nearly 8,000 square kilometres of farmland and forest, and more than half of the UK’s coastline.

Ownership or oversight?

Although King Charles III ‘owns’ the portfolio, most of it is managed on trust by various bodies, including the Crown Estate, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, and various trusts and foundations.

This means the monarch cannot sell, or profit from, the properties. The only two he owns privately are Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk.

Key takeaways

• King Charles III inherited a property portfolio worth $25 billion.
• The portfolio includes seven palaces, 10 castles, 56 cottages and 14 ruins, as well as more than 17 million square feet of retail space, nearly 8,000 square kilometres of farmland and forest, and more than half of the UK’s coastline.
• Although the monarch owns the portfolio, it is mostly managed on trust by various bodies, including the Crown Estate.

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