For the first 35 years of his life, Prince Harry never had to think about money. Staff, security, and whatever else a prince might need was simply taken care of.
Now, things are very different.
Royal expert Dan Wakeford, former editor of People and Us Weekly and a well-connected Sussex watcher, has published a detailed piece in his Celebrity Intelligence newsletter based on conversations with five sources inside the couple’s circle.
The picture he paints is one of real financial pressure: “Five years, roughly. That’s the window before their lifestyle looks a lot different,” one source told him.
The inheritance Harry received from Princess Diana and the Queen Mother – estimated to be around $20 million – has reportedly been largely spent.
Their Montecito home comes with multiple mortgages, security costs over $4 million a year, and Harry’s legal battles against British media outlets have added up significantly.
“The inheritance has largely been spent on the house and the legal trials,” one source said.
The big deals that were meant to fund their independence, including partnerships with Netflix and Spotify, turned out to be smaller than the reported figures, and demand for Sussex projects has since quietened.
Staff has since been reduced from 16 to five, and one source described the pair as “wildly unhappy.”
Part of the issue, according to those close to the couple, is that Harry simply didn’t grow up having to think about this side of things.
“Harry – raised in a world where everything was provided – reportedly lacks basic awareness of what things cost,” one source noted.
The two also seem to want fairly different things at this point.
Harry, sources say, “does not want the life he has right now” and “would be content to downsize, move somewhere like Montana, live modestly.”
Meanwhile, Meghan is more focused on making things work. Her lifestyle brand As ever, possible acting projects and various partnerships are keeping momentum going, and she appears more clear-eyed about their situation. “Meghan has a sense of how careful they need to be,” an insider said.
One source warns there’s just five years before their current lifestyle becomes unsustainable – for someone who never had to worry about money growing up, it’s a significant adjustment.
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