Earlier this year, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped down from senior members of the Royal Family with the aim of becoming financially independent. The couple recently repaired the £2.4million used to revamp Frogmore Cottage.
Charles still pays for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge out of his £22.2million Duchy of Cornwall income.
But now, the total figure the Prince of Wales spent on funding Harry and Meghan in their final year as senior royals, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, has been revealed.
According to Clarence House’s annual review, the staggering bill reached up to £5.6million for both his sons and their wives.
The report does not give any detailed breakdown on the funding for the activities of the Sussexes and the Cambridges.
Prince Charles’s bill for children laid bare (Image: Getty)
Charles would pay for Sussexes and Cambridges (Image: Getty)
This figure was up by 11 percent – or £556,000 – on the year before.
Royal aides have declined to comment on the increase except for saying the money came from Charles’s private Duchy income.
The accounts run from April 2019 to the end of March this year when the UK went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Charles’s non-official expenditure for himself and his family from his Duchy income was around £3.2million – an increase of £45,000.
READ MORE: Don’t end the Monarchy! Sacking royals would DESTROY country
The British Royal Family (Image: Mirror)
This money covers the salary costs of his personal secretaries, chefs, valets, farm, garden and stable staff.
The cost of his London office and official residence fell from £680,000 to £521,000.
A source believes this was due to lower costs on repairs and refurbishments of Clarence House.
When Meghan and Harry stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family, they still received financial support from Charles when they started their new life in Los Angeles.
DON’T MISS
The heartwarming title Kate Middleton will get when Charles is King [REVEAL]
Adorable new Christening pictures of Royal Family’s latest arrival [INSIGHT]
Prince Charles heartbreak: How Charles was LAST to know about Archie [COMMENT]
Royal Family costing taxpayers more than ever (Image: Express)
At the time, a spokeswoman said the couple were paying for their own security with Charles making private financial contributions but not always from his Duchy income.
However, the couple signed a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix estimated to be worth up to £75million over five years.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement regarding their Netflix deal, which read: “Through our work with diverse communities and their environments to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope.”
The Netflix deal will see the couple producing a range of programmes for the streaming service.
Harry and Meghan have signed Netflix deal (Image: Getty)
The couple are expected to follow in the footsteps of their friends, Barack and Michelle Obama, who have already secured an Academy Award through their first Netflix production which was about globalisation, called American Factory.
It was previously reported Meghan and Harry were setting their sights on a new TV show focusing on ‘normal’ people and was pitched to a number of executives.
A source said the show will focus on two causes close to Meghan’s heart; empowering women and tackling racial discrimination.
Meghan and Harry married in 2018 (Image: PA)
Both Harry and Meghan will reportedly appear in the show but the project will not focus on the couple but they would work as joint producers.
It was previously reported future works will include issues on climate change and mental health, a topic particularly close to Harry’s heart.
Since stepping down from the Royal Family, Meghan – who shot to fame on Suits – has lent her voice to the Disney+ documentary, Elephants.
