As he celebrates his 30th birthday today, Prince William is set to inherit an estimated £10 million from his mother’s estate today, which means he can now take control of half of a trust fund believed to be worth more than £20 million.
Princess Diana bequeathed the trust to the Duke of Cambridge and his brother, Prince Harry, who were 15 and 12 at the time of her death in 1997.
Princess Diana left a net estate of £12,966,022 after inheritance tax of £8,502,330 was deducted. Her estate includes stocks and shares, jewellery, cash from her £17million divorce settlement, dresses and other personal belongings at her Kensington Palace apartment.
Diana willed that it would be held in trust to be shared equally between her two sons, even though William will inherit income from the Duchy of Cornwall estate when he becomes Prince of Wales. In her original will, drawn up in 1993, the princess had stipulated that both princes would be entitled to their entire share of the capital on reaching 25.
But three months after her premature death in a Paris car crash, details of the will were changed by a variation order granted by the High Court on December 19, 1997. In an exceptional move by the court, the executors made both her original will and the new one, public.
The key changes, which were designed to protect the then young princes, included a clause that raised the age at which they could ask for the capital in full to 30.
Meanwhile, Prince William has decided to have a low-key celebration today with a few close friends for a quiet meal at their home in North Wales.
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