Prince Harry to inherit $17m from late Queen Mother on 40th birthday

Prince Harry is set to inherit millions when he turns 40 next week. Photo / Getty Images

Some sources claim the Duke of Sussex may have been left more money than his older brother in the inheritance.

Prince Harry is reportedly set to inherit £8 million ($17m) from the late Queen Mother when he turns 40.

The Duke of Sussex will celebrate the milestone on September 15, and it is thought his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, started collecting a huge trust fund for him when he was aged 10.

At the time, the Queen Mother, who was then 94, apparently put aside a tax-free £19 million ($40.4m) to leave to her great-grandchildren, according to the Times.

The newspaper added the inheritances were divided into two installments – one to be given to Princes William and Harry when they turned 21, and another on their 40th birthdays.

The Queen Mother, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Prince Charles attend The Queen Mothers 99th Birthday Celebrations at Clarence House on August 4th,1999 in London, England. Photo / UK Press via Getty Images

A former palace aide told the Times: “There was a trust fund set up at the time”.

“It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way.

“It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them.”

Sources added Harry may have been left more money than his older brother William, 42, in the inheritance.

Insiders say it is due to the fact the Queen Mother assumed William would get a larger fortune from the Duchy of Cornwall as Britain’s future heir.

William became Duke of Cornwall when he was made Prince of Wales after King Charles’ coronation, and is estimated to have got a £23.6m ($50.2m) fortune by inheriting the estate.

When the Queen Mother died in 2002 aged 101, a statement from Buckingham Palace said: “Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother has bequeathed her entire estate (which mainly comprises the contents of her houses) to the Queen”.

“In her will, she asked the Queen to make certain bequests to members of her staff, and these bequests will be subject to inheritance tax in the normal way.

”The Queen has decided that the most important of Queen Elizabeth’s pictures and works of art should be transferred to the royal Collection.”