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Prince Harry has received a 9 million pound (NZ$21.49 million) birthday present from his late mother, Princess Diana.
The party-loving prince, who is third in line to the throne, inherited the money from his mother’s estate as he turned 25 on Tuesday.The Princess of Wales left an estate worth £21 million (NZ$49m)when she died in a Paris car crash in 1997.While the prince will not be able to access the full amount until he turns 30, he will start receiving an estimated £300,000 ($703,000) worth of annual interest payments from the lump sum.5 million (NZ$15m) was set aside for for each of her two sons, but the amount grew over the years as it earned substantial interest.About £6.
The quarter-century mark marks a coming of age for the flame-haired prince, whopossesses both his mother’s sense of adventure and her common touch.
British media ran a flood of pictures, showing Harry’s steady progression from a toddler in short pants to an earnest soldier in combat gear.
The younger son of Diana and Prince Charles spent his birthday continuing his pilot training in the Royal Air Force, but he was hardly out of the spotlight.
Other sympathetic images included the 12-year-old boy who walked behind his mother’s coffin to Westminster Abbey and the confident 24-year-old who spoke movingly at a memorial service in 2007 about “the best mother in the world. At each step – with his easy smile and approachable ways – he reminded many of Diana. She was our guardian, friend and protector.”
“When she was alive, we completely took for granted her unrivaled love of life, laughter, fun and folly. She never once allowed her unfaltering love for us to go unspoken or undemonstrated,” he said. She never once allowed her unfaltering love for us to go unspoken or undemonstrated,” he said.
Patrick Jephson, who was involved with Diana’s finances when he worked as her private secretary, said the princess’ money was “very prudently” invested and that Harry will also have access to some of the considerable wealth generated by the Duchy of Cornwall, which is under Prince Charles’ control.Diana’s estate was comprised mostly of her divorce settlement from Charles.
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