While King Charles inherited a vast property portfolio when he acceded to the throne in September 2022, including at least seven palaces, 10 castles, 12 homes, 56 cottages, 14 ancient ruins as well as the Crown Estate, his net worth still pales in comparison to some of Europe’s other royals. Currently, the King and Queen Camilla are said to be worth around £576 million. 

In fact, it is one of the world’s smallest countries that is home to Europe’s richest royal. Despite not being a name that often springs to mind when discussing the continent’s monarchs, he has amassed quite an impressive fortune. He actually stands as one of the wealthiest billionaire royals in the world,  alongside the likes of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. 

Luxembourg is a landlocked country in Western Europe, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. With an area of just 998 square miles, it is Europe’s seventh-smallest country. It is also claimed to be one of the “safest in the world”.

Home to around 672,000 people, it is also one of the least-populated countries in Europe, though it does have one of the highest population growth rates, with foreigners accounting for almost half of the population. 

Luxembourg is a representative democracy, headed by a constitutional monarch, Grand Duke Henri, making it the world’s only remaining sovereign grand duchy.

Grand Duke Henri was born in 1955 and has reigned since 2000, following the abdication of his father, Grand Duke Jean. He is also the first cousin of King Philippe of Belgium. He married his wife, Cuban-born María Teresa Mestre y Batista (Maria Teresa), in 1981 and together they have five children and eight grandchildren. 

He is said to be worth up to $4 billion, roughly equivalent to £3 billion. 

Most of the wealth generated by the royals comes from their private assets, including their land, property and jewellery. 

In 2006, the monarch was embroiled in controversy when the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte’s (Henri’s mother) jewels were put up for auction. Many citizens argued that this amounted to their “national heritage” being put on sale and eventually the items were withdrawn from sale. 

The Grand Duke’s reign is set to end this year, however. Having delegated some of his powers to his eldest son and heir apparent, Guillaume, last year, he is set to abdicate in his favour in October 2025. It remains to be seen how much of his father’s wealth Guillaume, and whether he will manage to hold on to the title of Europe’s richest monarch. 

While Grand Duke Henri’s net worth may be impressive, he is far from being the world’s richest monarch. This title is held by Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn, who is believed to be worth around £33 billion, mostly secured through investments.