A Very Bold 11-Year-Old Boy Asked Prince William How Much Money Was in His Bank Account
William’s response was nothing if not interesting.
![Prince William on a visit to Manchester](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RFt8XCkxX22McWNCQhtoKL-415-80.jpg)
Once again, kids say the darndest things: while on a visit to Manchester on Thursday, William was asked by an 11-year-old how much was in his bank account. (The boldness of youth!)
There’s really no great way to respond to that question if you’re the Prince of Wales (a man of substantial means and privilege), but, per Hello, William laughed and said he “didn’t know.”
Also while on the visit to Moss Side, the self-deprecating future king watched volunteers cut out hairstyles they thought were empowering and positive; when asked if he wanted to join in, William joked “I’m literally the last person you should ask. My hair is disappearing.” According to Hello, “William also had a difficult time when he attempted to play pool in front of a crowd, eliciting groans after he failed to sink a yellow ball twice.”
But the visit wasn’t all jokes and humor—Hello reports that he sat down with mothers who had lost their children due to violence, including Audrey Preston, who lost her 21-year-old son three years ago. “I think it’s important he came into Moss Side to listen to our stories,” she said. “When I was told he was coming I thought, ‘Wow, why would he want to come and listen to me?’ Lots of kids get murdered in this area and nobody cares really about the families. We’re just left to our own devices, so it’s good he came, good for the community.”
As to the question of how much William’s net worth is, let’s start here: per People, when King Charles acceded to the throne, William inherited the Duchy of Cornwall, an estate of farmland, property, and commercial businesses worth around $1.3 billion.
William also inherited £10 million from the estate of his late mother, Princess Diana, The Times reports, and The Mirror reports he inherited millions after his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, died in March 2002, who put her money in a trust fund to be split amongst her great-grandchildren—with £14 million going to William and younger brother Prince Harry specifically. In the agreement, Harry was to get more than William, as the Queen Mother knew that one day William would inherit the Duchy of Cornwall, but Harry would not. (So, yeah, “I don’t know” was probably the right answer.)
While in Manchester, William also visited the Hideaway Youth Project, and his visit to Moss Side fulfilled a promise he made at a Buckingham Palace garden party earlier this year, where he promised Wendy Simms—who runs a local food bank—that he would visit. “It’s been a while, Wendy,” William said as he reunited with Simms. “I told you I’d come and see you.”
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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
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