Richest European royal revealed - King Charles doesn’t even come close

A list has been released showing the richest royals in Europe, and it's most certainly not King Charles.

Make no mistake, King Charles is very rich, with an estimated net worth of around £610 million according to the Sunday Times rich list in 2024, this is just accounting for Charles' personal wealth. But all of Charles' personal wealth is not enough to get him into the top 10 on the rich list, or even the top 100.

In fact, Charles ranked at number 258 on the 2024 rich list, although this year, he moved up slightly, with his network going up to £640 million.

This carries him to 238 on the list, a placing which by a strange coincidence he shares with former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, who saw their net worth fall by £11 million this year.

But who is the richest royal on this year's list?

Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Well, one aristocrat who ranked very highly on this year's list is Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster.

Grosvenor is a close friend of Prince William and Prince Harry, and is even godfather to their sons Prince George of Wales and Prince Archie of Sussex.

According to this year's rich list, the Duke of Westminster is worth £9.884 billion, thanks to his inheriting the Grosvenor Estate. This is an enormous property portfolio originating in the 17th century, with prime London real estate including in Belgravia and Mayfair, where Grosvenor Square literally takes the family name.

Given that the one thing nearly everyone knows about London is that property there is insanely expensive, it's small wonder that the Duke of Westminster ranks at number 14 on this year's rich list.

As for King Charles, you may be thinking, but what about all the palaces and properties and estates which come with being king?

Well, while Charles lives on these royal estates and has use of them, technically these are not his personal property, the Sunday Times rich list does not count them as such.

Prince William at Grosvenor's wedding in 2024 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Most of the royal palaces and holdings are managed by the Crown Estates, this is a body which oversees lands, businesses and suchlike which are owned by the Crown.

Proceeds from the Crown Estates are used to pay things like the sovereign grant, and covering the expenses of the royal family performing their royal duties.

The status is odd as it's neither Charles' personal property, nor is it publicly owned.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't perks that come from being a royal.

Recently there has been a storm of controversy over very favourable rental agreements on crown estate properties, most notably with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who paid a 'peppercorn' rent on the enormous royal mansion he has occupied for decades, despite being a multimillionaire.