The Most Expensive Items of Queen Elizabeth II

On September 8, 2022, the entire world lost a British National Treasure. At 6:30 pm London time, Buckingham Palace announced via Twitter that Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle.

The longest reigning monarch in British history lived to be 96 years old, having reigned for over 70 years. Not only is she the longest reigning monarch in Britain, but she is also the second longest reigning monarch in recorded history.

At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth II owned many of the world's treasures and several of her own. While she passed away with a net worth of merely $600 million, many of her possessions are worth far more than that (some are even priceless)! Join us as we honor the Queen of England, learn a little about her family's history, and discover the most expensive items of Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe is a unique and unprecedented collection of the most stunning fashion dresses and dress suits. Her wedding dress and coronation dress were both designed by Norman Hartnell, a British couturier, and are worth more than $1 million each.

The Queen owned the largest stamp collection on Earth. She began collecting them when she was very little, and it was a hobby she continued investing in throughout her life. 

The Yoruba Throne is two wooden thrones covered in ornate royal patterns and colors. The Yoruba people of West Africa (near modern-day Nigeria) gifted the thrones to the British empire.

The Boring Tunnel Machine (named after her) was a gift to help railway engineers build train tunnels. There are two of these Crossrail tunneling machines, and they each weigh around 1,000 tons. 

Valued at over $13 million, the Queen's car collection consisted of both new cars and classic models that are so rare that they are nearly priceless. She had a custom 1984 Jaguar Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon valued at $77,000, and one Mercedes SUV she owned is valued at $400,000.

The Palace calls it a yacht, but let's face it, she owned an entire ship called the HMY Britannia Trust. Construction on the ship began in 1952 and was christened for its maiden voyage on April 16, 1953. 

To be clear, we are not talking about her tiaras or crowns (we'll cover those later). What we mean when we talk about her expensive jewelry collection is that we are referring to the many beautiful pieces she wore every day. Her broaches, earrings, necklaces with more ornate gemstones, and rings are worth more than the entire economy of some smaller countries. 

Queen Elizabeth owned more than seven billion acres of land worldwide. The total value equals $33 trillion (with a T) and covers one-sixth of the non-ocean surface of the Earth. 

With land comes structures that need furnishing. The Palace's furniture collection contains some of the oldest pieces of furniture in the world and are absolutely priceless. 

The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace houses the priceless art collection valued at $10 billion and was owned by the Queen of England. It is the largest privately-owned collection in the world and consists of over 60 rare paintings, some of them painted by notable painters like Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit in the Royal Box at Wimbledon? For a mere $222,000 you can. Well, that's how much the Palace paid for their 74-seat box built in 1992 so that Her Majesty and the Royal Family could enjoy a game of tennis. 

The Royal Race Horses are worth more than $9 million, but the horses were invaluable to the Queen. She had a fascination with horses throughout her life that began when her great-uncle King George V gave her a pony for her fourth birthday. 

It was no secret that, when it came to handbags and purses, Queen Elizabeth had a favorite designer. In fact, every handbag she owned was a Launer London handbag, and she had over 200 of them valued at $500,000. 

The Queen's Fabergé Egg collection contains over 600 pieces and dates back more than a century ago. The collection began with Gustav Fabergé designing jewel-encrusted eggs that captured the attention of Princesses Alexandra of Denmark. 

A priceless ensemble that eternally set the trend of wearing a white wedding dress, Queen Victoria’s Wedding Dress remains preserved in the Royal Albert Museum for anyone to see. According to Vogue, the dress was made of lace and silk-satin for her marriage to Prince Albert.

Worth over $51 million, the Cullinan Diamond is a 3,106.75-carat gem that is the largest jewel-grade rough diamond ever mined. It was founded in 1905 by and purchased by the Prime Minister of Transvaal and gifted to King Endward VII of England. 

The Queen didn't just own land and real estate, but she also owned Hyde Park, worth more than $23 billion. Similar to Central Park in New York City, Hyde Park is a public square for people to take in a concert, socialize, or participate in outdoor activities. 

King Henry VIII's Armor was one of the Queen's priceless possessions and has been in the Royal family since 1540. The suit may be nearly 500 years old but remains in excellent condition.

Valued at $100 billion, the British seabed belonged to the Queen. The Royal family has owned the seabed since 1966, but before that, there wasn't any claimed ownership. That means there was no one to purchase the watery land from.

So, in the 1960s, the Queen declared that the seabed belonged to the crown. While that might seem strange to suddenly proclaim yourself the owner of the land, when you're the Queen, it's your right. However, the reasons for her declaration actually make sense.

Another priceless treasure owned by the Queen is Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is one of the leading tourist attractions in Great Britain, and it has hosted many significant Royal events, including weddings, funerals, and baptisms. 

This traffic nightmare is a priceless area of London owned by the Palace but seemingly not managed by any municipality of any kind. The Square was named after the Trafalgar Battle in 1805, in which the British were victorious.

Valued at $56 billion, the Tower of London was built in 1066 and is a historical landmark best known for being a jailhouse during the 16th and 17th centuries. Queen Elizabeth owned the Tower and has since passed it down to King Charles.

While this Aberdeen Angus cow was not the most expensive item of Queen Elizabeth's, it certainly was one of her most prized possessions. She would probably have told you it was priceless, but it does have an estimated value of $2,800. 

The Queen lived a life in service to her country, and, while she was a young Queen early in her life, she spent her adolescence as a teenage girl whose parents owned a shopping mall, 17 shopping centers, and retail shops, to be exact.

While many expect a monarch to own castles, lands, and precious jewels, no one thinks the Royal family owns dolphins, but they do! Before she died, the Queen not only owned the dolphins at the aquariums of London, she was in charge of every dolphin, fish, porpoise, whale, and fishery in the U.K. 

We've covered the valuable land the Queen owned but haven't yet covered the forests. The Windsor estate owns over 25,000 acres of rural forest around the U.K. as well as in other parts of the world. 

Scotland is a territory of the United Kingdom, owned by the Royal family. While Scotland is undoubtedly quite valuable, it is the mines of Scotland that made the list of expensive items of Queen Elizabeth II. 

We covered the Queen's jewelry a little while ago, and now we'll talk about the Queen's tiaras. She had several in her collection in various styles and gem counts worth over $700,000.

Surprisingly, the Queen only owned half of the shoreline in the U.K. We thought she owned all the shoreline, but apparently, she only owned half. A large portion of the coastlines of Wales, Northern Ireland, and England are owned by the Windsor estate. 

Along with the seabeds, Queen Elizabeth owned the Wind Turbine Renewable Energy project worth $1 billion that sits atop them. The project began to provide renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels in an attempt to reduce the impact of climate change. 

Regent Street in downtown London is one of the busiest places in England. It has restaurants, retail shops, and tourist spots and kind of resembles Time Square in New York City, and the Royal family owns this stretch of road. 

In 2002, the Windsor estate threw a huge party known as the Party at the Palace to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. During the festivities, the music was recorded and compiled into one album.

Being the Queen certainly had its perks for Elizabeth II, especially the added bonus of having her own ATM machine in the basement at one of her residences. She uses the Coutts Bank of London to manage her personal finances, but being the public figure she was, she couldn't just run down to the local branch when she needed some cash.

The British monarch has its own flag, as does all of England, but Queen Elizabeth was the only living monarch to have her own flag, unique from the country's flag. 

Since 1933, Queen Elizabeth II had been in love with Pembroke Welsh Corgis, and when she was seven years old, King George VI brought his family home their first Corgi. When the Queen turned 18, she was gifted another as a birthday present. Since that time, she raised more than 30 Corgis.

The Queen had more than 3,000 miniature figurines in her Royal Collection, making it one of the most extensive collections in the world. Many of these tiny models date back to the 16th century when King Henry VIII started the collection that would become Queen Elizabeth II's (and now King Charles III). 

One valuable Royal treasure passed down to the Queen was Victoria's silver-gilt baptismal font. Commissioned in 1840 by Queen Victoria for the birth of her first child, Princess Victoria. 

The Sandringham castle was very special to Queen Elizabeth II and her family. Since 1842, four monarchs have called Sandringham Castle their private residence. Queen Elizabeth's father, George VI, and grandfather, George V, died there. 

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, purchased the Balmoral estate in 1852 from the Farquharson family. The Royal family then commissioned the castle to be built on the property, and Prince Albert and architect William Smith of Aberdeen designed the castle.

We know that Queen Elizabeth II loved her corgis and dorgis, her horses, cattle, and sea creatures, but did you know that she had a colony of bats she kept as pets? That's right, she allowed them to live in the rafters at Balmoral.  

We covered the land and real estate Queen Elizabeth II owned as the U.K. monarch, but we haven't discussed the countries she controlled during her reign. 

Few people know that Canada is a commonwealth of the British monarch and, until her passing, was under the control of the Queen. Canada will continue to recognize the Palace as its Head of State.

Nearly 200 years ago, Sébastien Érard, a famous French instrument maker, created a unique piano for Queen Victoria. The grand piano was given to her in 1856 and today is a showpiece in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, placed there by Queen Elizabeth II.

This lovely, formal rose garden was planted at the instruction of Queen Mary in the 1550s and is currently owned by the Windsor estate. It is located in Regent Park and features delightful statues, a fountain, a rock garden, and waterfalls. 

Another personal collection the Queen grew from childhood was her array of furs and mink coats. Her collection reached its peak in the '60s and '70s when furs and mink coats were a sign of prosperity. 

Valued at $130,000, the Queen owned a group of unclaimed swans that reside along stretches of River Thames. While the Queen loved all her animals, the swans were invaluable to her. 

As if the Queen's collection of animals couldn't get any more bizarre, we'd like to introduce you to Marques, one of the two extremely rare black jaguars. There are roughly only 600 jaguars worldwide, and black jaguars make up a small percentage. 

While the Queen's car collection was quite impressive, her horse-drawn carriage is the most ornate vehicle she owns. The carriage is only used for special occasions, and she actually has two of them, one that is covered and one that is open. 

The Crown of the British empire is an elegant masterpiece, handmade and decorated with 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 5 rubies. The base of the velvet cap is fitted with a fur lining, and four half-arcs join at the top and are crowned with a cross and ball.