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- Prince Harry told Oprah that he was financially cut off by his family in early 2020.
- The Duke of Sussex has been living off his inheritance from Princess Diana, after her death in 1997.
- Harry thinks his mother “saw it coming” when she left both sons $8.9 million each in trusts.
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Prince Harry said that he was financially cut off by the royal family in 2020 and has since relied on the money he inherited from his late mother Princess Diana.
In the first sit-down interview the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have carried out since stepping back as senior royals in January 2020, Harry told Oprah that he stopped receiving financial support “in the first quarter of 2020.”
The two-hour interview, which aired on Sunday night on CBS, saw Harry revealing that his mother’s money made the decision possible.
“But I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this,” Harry explained. “Touching back on what you asked about what my mum would think of this, I think she saw it coming,” he said, going on to discuss how his mother might have known they would need the money after her own step back foreshadowed his and Markle’s.
“I certainly felt her presence throughout this whole process, ” he added.
Following her death in 1997, Diana left both William and Harry $8.9 million (£6.5 million) to be held in trusts until their 30th birthdays, The Telegraph reports. After being invested and gaining "substantial" interest, Harry reportedly received $13.8 million (£10 million) when he turned 30.
Harry, who turns 37 this September, told Oprah he thought that his mother would feel very "angry" at the way they have been treated and would have wanted them to be happy.
The BBC reports that Harry likely inherited additional funds from his great grandmother, the Queen Mother, who died in 2002. Prince William and Prince Harry were left $19.3 million (£14 million) to divide between themselves, but it is expected that Harry would receive a larger portion as he would not be afforded the added financial benefits of being king one day.
Meanwhile, Markle is reported to have amassed $5 million through her work as an actress in "Suits" and other endeavors such as endorsement deals and sponsorships. The couple has been widely criticized for entering into multimillion-dollar media deals with streaming giants Spotify and Netflix.
Oprah asked the couple what they would say to critics who think they are just "money grabbing royals," to which Harry reassured her that "this was never the intention."
Markle went on to imply that the decision to create their charity Archewell was instead a remedy to the culture of misinformation that they fell victim to, explaining that their work will prioritize "story-telling through a truthful lens."
Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.