Normally, data collected of who are the wealthiest royals in the European continent often ranked names of the reigning sovereigns, however, for the benefit of fairness to other senior royal members, we will be ranking them by Royal Houses as per data we collected from different sources online (Yahoo finance, Business Insider, Forbes etc).
Note that net worth and wealth of royals are often difficult to estimate and forecast since their assets are tied to the crown and they are receiving funding from the state in additional to their personal fortune.
Thus, the list of varies and ranking is often disputed, however, this list is draws out of approximate estimation of their net worth. Here's how the reigning royal houses in Europe are ranked by their estimated net worth.
10. Royal House of Belgium. Estimated net worth: $14 million. Current Head: King Philippe Reigning since: 2013 Heir-Apparent: Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant. Classification: Kingdom.
King Philippe ascended the Belgian throne in 2013, following his father's abdication, King Albert II, due to poor health. Few records ever found on the Belgian king's net worth, however, since ascending the throne, his estimated net worth is said to have been around $14 million.
All his expenditures and his royal household are covered by the Civil List of Belgium, set roughly $13 million a year. Belgian royal properties are owned either by the State or by The Royal Trust, which can never be sold.
9. Royal House of Bourbon (Spain) - Estimated net worth: $20 million. Current Head: King Felipe VI. Reigning since: 2014. Heir-presumptive: Leonor, Princess of Asturias. Classification: Kingdom.
King Felipe VI of Spain ascended the Spanish throne in 2014 upon the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos of Spain due to health reason. Currently, he is the youngest sovereign in European monarchy.
In recent years, Spain has a struggling economy that the expenditures of the Spanish royal family, which are financed by the state, have been cut.Â
King Felipe VI's funding has even cut by 20% according to reports. In addition to eight magnificent royal palaces and five country residences, the state covers maintenance of ten monasteries and convents run by the Spanish royal family since the early times.
8. Royal House of Glucksburg (Norway) - Estimated net worth: $30 million. Current Head: King Harald V. Reigning since: 1991. Heir-apparent: Crown Prince Haakon. Classification: Kingdom.
Despite Norway's status as one of the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, its monarch is not the richest among Europe's Crown Heads.Â
However, he has some perks. The king who has a passion in sailing and who was once represented Norway in the World Olympics Sailing event, spent some of his wealth purchasing a royal yacht.
The Norwegian government allocated roughly $14 million for the King and Queen's personal expenses according to the reports in 2017. As with other European crown heads, King Harald V of Norway does not pay taxes.
7. Royal House of Glucksburg (Denmark) - Estimated net worth: $40 million. Current Head: Queen Margrethe II. Reigning since: 1972. Heir-apparent: Crown Prince Frederick. Classification: Kingdom.
If you ever wondered why Norway and Denmark have the same royal house name, it's because the first monarch under independent Norway was King Haakon VII, son of King Frederick VIII of Denmark. His wife was Princess Maud of Wales, daughter of King Edward VII of Britain.
So it's practically the same family tree. Had Greece not switched to republic, Europe has three constitutional monarchies under the same royal house of Glucksburg. They both descended from King Christian IX of Denmark.
Back to the net worth of Queen Margrethe II.Â
According to the Danish royal family's State Civil List Annuity website, "the government allowance is adjusted twice a year in accordance with the development of the pay index for state sector employees".
As of April 1, 2021, the civil list payment totals DKK 7,250, 586 a month. This government allowance to the royal house of Glucksburg covers the expenditures of Queen Margrethe II, and allowances for the working members of the royal family: Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim and his wife, Princess Marie, and the Queen's younger sister, Princess Benedikte.
6. House of Bernadotte (Sweden) -Â Estimated net worth: $70 million. Current Head: King Carl XVI Gustaf. Reigning since: 1973. Heir-apparent: Crown Princess Victoria. Classification: Kingdom.
In October 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf decided to cut expenses on royal expenditures and relieved the state from burden of allotting allowances to working members of the royal family.
This move stripped the grandchildren of the king, who are not in direct succession to the throne, with titles and privileges. The grandchildren affected are the children of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
By relieving them of future royal duties means they are no longer entitled to be called royal highnesses and would no longer receive public funding on their activities and lifestyle. This further means that the Swedish government can massively save money from taxpayers.
In 2015, Sweden's Civil List granted the king and his royal household with roughly $15 million in allowances for maintenance and expenses. For year 2021, this will be largely cut.
The royal family however, has a personal income from their private ownership of Solliden Palace, their summer home in the Baltics.
5. Royal House of Orange-Nassau (The Netherlands). Estimated net worth: $200 million. Current Head: King Wilhelm-Alexander. Reigning since: 2013. Heir-apparent: Catharina-Amalia, the Hereditary Princess of Orange. Classification: Kingdom.
King Wilhelm-Alexander ascended the Dutch throne in 2013 upon the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix after 33 years on the throne. He is the current second youngest royal sovereign in Europe after King Felipe VI of Spain.
The Dutch government allocated the king and his household with roughly $47 million a year for allowances on royal tours, public duties, his staff and personal expenses.
The Dutch royal family has personal fortune from their private properties, investments on real estates and in Shell Oil. In addition to private collection of expensive jewelry and paintings.
4. House of Windsor (United Kingdom) - Estimated net worth: $500 million. Current Head: Queen Elizabeth II. Reigning since: 1952. Heir-apparent: Charles, the Prince of Wales. Classification: Kingdom.
Despite being arguably the most popular monarch in the world and the longest to have ever reign in the current Europe, Her Majesty is not the wealthiest royal in the world.
This is in addition to the controversial high cost expenses the government incurred in maintaining the British monarchy. Its Civil List covers numbers of working royal family members.
In contrast to other royal household in Europe that already streamlined to cut expenses, the British royal family so far has not streamlined its members receiving allowances from the state.
They also have the largest members whose lifestyle and royal duties are funded by taxpayers. In addition to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Civil List covers the activities of the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen's cousins: the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, the Lady Ogilvy.
Children of Prince Andrew - Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and children of Princess Anne - Peter and Zara, are not working members of the royal family, therefore not included in the Civil List.Â
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall are not also part of the state funding since they are funded by the income of the Duchy of Cornwall, a Crown Property but whose purpose is to cover the expenses of the Heir-apparent.
With the amount of expenditures covered by the state, Prince Charles expressed his plan to streamline the royal family when he ascends the throne someday.
Personal fortune of the Queen comes from her precious jewelry and art collections, private estates in Sandringham and Balmoral as well as from the home park of the Windsor estate surrounding Windsor Castle.
3. House of Grimaldi (Monaco) - Estimated net worth: $1 billion. Current Head: Prince Albert II of Monaco. Reigning since: 2005. Heir-apparent: Prince Jacques. Classification: Principality.
Monaco is one of the world's most expensive places. Most of its economy is derived from tourism, luxury goods and casino gambling.
Its current sovereign head, Prince Albert II, reportedly owns one fourth of its land. And where most of his personal fortune generated. Apart from Monaco, Prince Albert also owns properties in Philadelphia in the United States, where his mother, homeland of his mother, Grace Kelley.
He also owns an antic car collection, pricey stamp collection, and shares in the Monte Carlo resort, Societe des Bains de Mer. As the current head of state, Prince Albert II receives annual grant from the state, estimated to be around $50 million.
2. House of Liechtenstein - Estimated net worth: $3.5 billion. Current Head: Prince Hans Adam II. Reigning since: 1989. Heir-apparent: Alois, the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein. Classification: Principality.
Liechtenstein is one of Europe's smallest independent nations, a landlocked country bordering Germany and Austria. But one of the continent's wealthiest states. It's a principality ruled by His Serene Highness, Prince Hans Adam II.
Among the sovereign heads in Europe, Prince Hans Adam II received the lowest allowance from public funds, amounting only to $270, 709 annually, but he is one of Europe's wealthiest royals.
His private fortune is largely generated from its private owned bank, LGT Group, Europe's largest privately-owned asset management group.
He has also private investments made through the Prince of Liechtenstein foundation that oversees the royal family's real estate and winery assets.
1. House of Nassau-Weilburg (Luxembourg) - Estimated net worth: $4 billion. Current Head: Grand Duke Henri. Reigning since: 2000. Heir-apparent: Prince Guillaume, the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Classification: Grand Duchy
Luxembourg is the only remaining Grand Duchy in the world. It's also one of the world's richest nations in terms of GDP per capita. Its current crown head, Grand Duke Henri, is the first cousin of King Philippe of Belgium. And a second cousin of King Harald V of Norway.
Members of the Grand Duke's family do not receive a salary but their lifestyle, public appearances and household cost are financed by the state. In 2017, they were granted by the government of roughly $12 million.
However, this net worth of the Grand Duke has been disputed as the Grand Ducal family denies they are worth billions. As reigning royal family, they do not have much control on their fortune as most of their assets are tied up with the crown properties.
Like most royal families in the world whose actual net worth has been disputed for decades and how much they really worth, this list of Europe's wealthiest royal houses has also been disputed. However, many sources claimed this list is based on the most available data shared in the public and how much their royal houses amassed fortune down the centuries.
Sources: Business Insider, Yahoo Finance
For more information about the 10 reigning Royal Houses in Europe, please visit THIS LINK
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