A royal 'allowance' keeps William, Kate, Harry afloat

Prince Charles primarily covers the cost of Prince William and Kate Middleton's official lives, including staff, travel and wardrobes.

With a total fund of $4.6 million, both Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as Middleton are well taken care of by the future king. Charles draws most of the income from Duchy of Cornwall, an estate gifted to the heir for public and private use, the Palace says.
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The Duchy of Cornwall is one of the oldest and largest estates in Britain, it includes about 134,724 acres and 23 counties in the southwest region of the country. It was created in the 1300s by Edward III to provide his son, Prince Edward, with steady income separate from the palace.

Current income streaming from the estate totaled about $31.1 million as of March 31, the heir's office said in an annual report released Tuesday. Charles' budget for both his sons to run their Kensington Palace office rose $60,000 according to the report, most probably due to increased travel, a source tells People.

"We can't identify how much of it is allocated to their office," they told the magazine. Specific costs aren't being broken down like they used to be, they added.

The nearly $5 million allowance doesn't cover the costs of maintaining the duke and duchess of Cambridge's family estate, Anmer Hall. The family is said to pay for upkeep privately. People observes that the official allowance also doesn't cover some personal staff, including their nanny and housekeeper.

When it comes to travel, much of the royal couple's comings and goings were paid for by the countries which they visited. But some trips, including William's visit to Japan and China earlier this year cost $109,000 in flights. The duo's trip to New York late last year cost a little under $30,000.

For Prince Harry, he and his staff paid about $135,000 for all fights to Brazil and Chile last summer.