15 Expensive Things Owned By The Richest Royal Families, including the Queen of England and the Sultan of Brunei.
15. Golden Jubilee Diamond
Weighing an astonishing 545.67 carats the Golden Jubilee Diamond and owned by one of the Richest Royal Families this is the largest cut diamond in the world and is owned by The King of Thailand and is thought to be worth well over $12 million dollars.
If sold at auction the diamond could reach a significantly higher price than this with its history including being blessed by both Pope John Paul II and the Buddhist Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.
Because of its deep cracks and several inclusions, the Golden Jubilee Diamond was cut in a specially designed underground room free from vibrations and the yellow-brown diamond was transformed through a fire rose cushion cut.
The Golden Jubilee Diamond has been exhibited in several places around the world including Henry Ho’s 59-story Jewelry Trade Center in Bangkok and Gleims Jewelers in Palo Alto, California.
The diamond currently resides in the Royal Thai Palace as part of the Crown jewels and is protected by heavy security at all times.
14. The World’s Largest Palace
Holding the title of the worlds largest residential palace is the Istana Nurul Iman, which is the home of the current Sultan of Brunei.
Designed and built at a cost of around $1.4 Billion Dollars, the palace was the world of the same company who later went on to build the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
The palace contains 1,788 rooms, which includes 257 bathrooms, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 5,000 guests, a mosque accommodating 1,500 people.
The palace also includes a 110-car garage, an air conditioned stable for the Sultan’s 200 polo ponies, and 5 swimming pools.
Due to its gigantic size, the palace makes use of 564 chandeliers, 51,000 light bulbs, 44 stairwells, and 18 elevators.
13. Extravagant Art collection
Currently thought to be the largest and most expensive art collections in the world, it is owned by Her Madgesty Queen Elizabeth II with all of the collection housed in 13 royal palaces and homes around the United Kingdom.
Queen Elizabeth has a net worth of around $500 Million Dollars and includes 7,000 paintings, 30,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 500,000 prints.
About 3,000 objects are on loan to museums throughout the world, and many others are loaned on a temporary basis to exhibitions.
The collection includes many paintings and portraits of former royals including King Henry VIII, King George V, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth I
Other portraits of famous people include Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, Charles Dickens and more recent political additions such as Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
While we currently dont have a price for the whole collection we encourage you to leave your estimates down in the comments section below.
12. Grace Kelly Childhood Home
Purchased by Prince Albert of Monaco, this is the home of Grace Kelly where she accepted a marrige proposal by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955.
The six-bedroom Colonial home that is located in Philadelphia’s East Falls section, is thought to have cost Prince Albert just under $1 Million Dollars.
He described the home as very special to his family and that he was happy to have saved it from the certain death of demolition and re-development.
The home was built in 1935 by Kelly’s father, John B. Kelly who was a three-time Olympic gold medal-winning rower in the 1920s and later a very succesful businessman.
Princess Grace died in 1982, aged just 52, from injuries she suffered in an automobile crash in France and a large blue sign was erected outside the home to commemorate her living there.
11. Alamshar Yacht
Costing $200 Million Dollars and belonging to the Aga Khan, this 164ft luxury vessel, named the Alamshar after his retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse was completed and delivered in 2014.
The yacht was commissioned in the 1990’s and at the time was expected to be the world’s fastest yacht with a top speed of 70 knots.
The yacht has a range of 700 nautical miles at speeds of 45 knots, 950 nautical miles at speeds of 35 knots and 1040 nautical miles at 15 knots.
The yacht is thought to have several guest bedrooms, a dinning area and relaxation area with a fully computerised bridge and modern day comforts like internet access.
10. Monte Carlo Casino
Another investment owned by Prince Albert of Monaco, The Monte Carlo Casino is located in the small principality of Monaco ans was opened in 1863.
The casino offeres a large amount of facilities including different kinds of roulette, craps, Baccarat, Video poker, Slot machines, Stud poker and Blackjack.
In 1873, Joseph Jagger made the casino famous world wide when he broke the bank by discovering and capitalizing on a bias in one of the casino’s roulette wheels.
The casino served as a filming location for the 2004 film Ocean’s Twelve and has often been featured in the James Bond series of films.
In 1921, the first Women’s Olympiad was held at the casino garden and while the casino’s profits are kept strictly private its thought to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
9. Drakensteyn Castle
Drakensteyn Castle is a small castle located in the municipality of Baarn, Netherlands and is the private residence of Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, the country’s former Queen.
Princess Beatrix bought the castle in 1959, when she was the heir to the Dutch throne, and took up residence in 1963 after a programme of renovations.
Beatrix left the castle in 1980 when the family moved to the Hauge After Beatrix succeeded her mother Juliana as Queen of the Netherlands.
On January 28, 2013, it was announced that Beatrix would again take up residence at the castle after her abdication later that year.
The castle was built between the years of 1640 and 1643 with it having an octagonal shape and being surrounded by a moat that can be crossed via a bridge.
8. Sandringham House
Owned by Queen Elizabeth the II of the United Kingdom, this large royal house is the much loved country retreat for the Queen.
The estate has been the private home for over four genatations of British Monarchs since 1862 and is set in 24 hectares of stunning gardens.
The Queen traditionally spends the Christmas holiday here with the royal family, and remains in residence until February, after the anniversary of her accession to the throne.
Sandringham estate also has several other properties located within its grounds and these include York Cottage, Park House which is the birthplace of Diana Princess of Wales, Anmer cottage and Wood Farm is often used for friends visiting the family.
7. Al Said Luxury Yacht
With a massive steel hull and aluminium superstructure that is thought to have cost aroud $300 Million Dollars to build and is the private floating residence of The Sultan of Oman.
The boat has 30 luxury cabins that can accommodate 65 guests and 140 crew members sleep in another 70 cabins on the lower decks.
When measured by volume the yacht is one of the largest in the world and on the back you can find a huge helicopter landing pad.
Most of the time the Royal Yacht Al Said is based in the Sultan Qaboos Port, near Muscat however when he travels to diferent places he is always escorted on the yacht by the Oman navy.
6. The Duchy of Lancaster
Consisting of a number of lands, properties and assets, The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the current Soveriegn, Queen Elizabeth II.
The duchy consists of 45,550 acres of land holdings including rural estates and farmland, urban developments, historic buildings and some commercial properties across England and Wales, particularly in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
In 2015, the estate was valued at about £472 million pounds and some of the more high profile properties include Lancaster Castle, Bolingbroke Castle, Goathland estate, Pickering Castle and The Savoy Estate in London.
In 1952 the revenue generated from the entire Duchy was thought to be around £100,000 a year, however by the year 2000 that had increased substantially to over £5.3 Million Pounds and by 2017 the revenue had grown to £19.2 Million Pounds.
5. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Owned and operated by Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, The Emir of Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is a sovereign wealth fund that invests in major projects in and around the UAE.
The combined total assets of the Authority have never been made bublic however some estimates that have been thrown around include totals of $800 billion to approximately $875 billion dollars.
Its portfolio grows at an annual rate of about 10% compounded and the fund is a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
The investment authority is one of the biggest purchasers of real estate arouf the world including London, The United States and The Middle East.
The company is thought to hold around $2.5 Trillion dollars world wide.
4. Villa Rocco dei Dragoni
Villa Rocco dei Dragoni is a private family estate in Tavernelle, Italy and was bought by Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus for their three sons in 1975.
he former owner was the Count De Vicini, who also owns 600 hectares of land in the area which is used for growing olives.
No known prices are available for the villa and no pictures from the inside currently exist.
3. Qatar Investment Authority
The Qatar Investment Authority is a holding company that specializes in both domestic and foreign investment and is owned and run by Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani.
The conglomerate is thought to be the second largest in the world after the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and owns the Qatari Diar, a property investment company.
Its investments are thought to total around $170 billion dollars of assets and these are expected to increase significantly with its expansion of liquefied natural gas exports to become the worlds biggest.
Other subsidiaries include the Qatar holding company and a fifty percent ownership of the Qatar national bank and a sixteen percent stake in the Qatar Islamic Bank.
In February 2012, it completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse’s headquarters in London and has both a stake in Credit Suisse and other development projects in Canary Wharf.
2. Al Alam Royal Palace
The ceremonial palace of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, it was built by Imam Sultan bin Ahmed the 7th direct grandfather of the current Sultan.
The existing palace, which has a facade of gold and blue, was rebuilt as a royal residence in 1972 with the palace itself is elegant but humble in design.
Visitors are currently not allowed to venture inside the high gates at the front however photographs are allowed and the Palace is used for official functions and receiving distinguished visitors.
The Al Alam Palace is surrounded by the Mirani and Jalali Forts built in the 16th century by the Portuguese and the palace has over 200 years of history.
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1. Palace of Liechtenstein
The Palace of Liechtenstein is located in the city of Vienna and is one of two palaces in Vienna belonging to the princely family of Liechtenstein.
The palace was built during the period of 1692 to 1705 and escaped destruction during World War II when bombs fell nearby.
It is still used as a private residence by the princely family and after a major restoration in 2013, the palace houses the 19th century section of the princely art collection.
The home is currently owned and managed by Hans-Adam II, the Prince of Liechtenstein, who has a total estimated net worth of around $3.5 billion dollars.
Other investments in this incredibly rich family include a family-owned bank, extensive investments, several other palaces, swathes of land and a 400-year-old art collection.
Look out for them coming in our new series, Battle of the Billionaires, coming soon!
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