The Most Surprising Jobs Held by Royals

From odd jobs to passion projects, many royals in various countries have had careers, gigs and regular jobs even with the title of king, queen, prince or princess. From the British royal family to the royal family of Greece, here are some of the most surprising jobs held by some of the wealthiest members of monarchies and what those jobs normally pay in the U.S.

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Last updated: July 1, 2021

Held by: Queen Máxima of the NetherlandsAverage salary for vice president at Deutsche Bank: $219,065

Máxima Zorreguieta married into royalty in 2002. As the wife of King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima’s job is to “support the head of state in performing his formal duties,” according to the Royal House of the Netherlands. That probably sounds like exhausting work — unless you ever were the vice president of institutional sales at Deutsche Bank in New York, which was how Máxima spent her days at the turn of the 21st century. Her net worth is unknown, but the job of queen earns a salary of $1.12 million a year to cover her pay and expenses.

If you aren’t lucky enough to be royal, these high-paying jobs you didn’t know existed will at least let you live more like a royal.

Held by: Prince Edward, Earl of WessexAverage salary for theater assistant: $30,000 a year

The youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward now is a full-time royal — but he also has an artistic streak. In the late 1980s, he worked as a production assistant for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theater company, the Really Useful Group. There he helped produce shows such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats.” The Earl of Essex has a net worth of $45 million.

Held by: Sophie, Countess of WessexAverage salary for a public relations executive: $54,581

Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, is the Countess of Essex. As with her husband, Sophie has committed to a full-time royal schedule of responsibilities. When the two married in 1999, however, Sophie still was a public relations executive, which, according to a 2001 report by the Telegraph, caused friction with the royal family. The queen eventually paid Sophie and Edward to quit their day jobs and stay close to the palace, according to the Daily Mail. Sophie’s net worth is about $49 million.

Held by: Zara TindallAverage salary for fashion designer: $67,037

Given her name by her uncle, Prince Charles, one-time “royal rebel” Zara Tindall, formerly Zara Phillips, is a world equestrian champion who also has an eye for horse-related fashion. In 2009, she worked with clothing company Musto to create a line of high-end equestrian riding gear. The daughters of princes automatically are princesses, but the daughters of princesses are not. Since Tindall’s mother, Princess Anne, refused the queen’s offer to make Zara a princess, she holds no official royal title. Her net worth is unknown, but the Daily Mail estimates Zara earns about $1.4 million a year through a variety of business interests.

Held by: Catherine, Duchess of CambridgeAverage salary for a fashion buyer: $61,209

Frequently compared to the beloved late Princess Diana, Kate Middleton is one of the most popular, highly publicized and easily one of the richest princesses on the planet. In 2006, however, the then-24-year-old was just Prince William’s girlfriend — and the newest employee for fashion chain Jigsaw, where she had just been hired as an accessories buyer. She now has a net worth of $10 million and the royal title of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Held by: Prince HarryAverage salary for a British Army captain: $56,010 to $66,599

In 2004, Prince Harry — son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and third in line to the British throne — joined the Army. In 2008, it came out that he secretly was serving on the front lines in Afghanistan, enduring the same conditions and facing the same danger as common soldiers. He went on to serve two tours in Afghanistan and retired after 10 years with the rank of captain. His net worth is estimated at $40 million.

Held by: Peter PhillipsMedian salary for a bank executive: $178,961

Peter Phillips is the son of Princess Anne, the grandson of the Queen and 11th in line for the British throne, although he has no official royal title. In 2012, Phillips, who has a net worth of $20 million, resigned from Scotland Royal Bank after seven years just as he was about to fall victim to a wave of layoffs, according to a Daily Mail report from the time.

Held by: Mary, Crown Princess of DenmarkAverage salary for advertising and marketing executives: $43,982

Born in Australia to a family of academics, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson married Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004 — but only after agreeing to renounce her Australian citizenship, convert to Danish Lutheranism and forfeit her rights to her future children in case of a divorce. The next day, she was Princess Mary. In her former life, she was an executive at an international marketing agency. Her net worth is unknown, but according to the Daily Mail, her husband bought her a $10 million island in Tasmania for her 45th birthday in 2017.

Held by: King Willem-Alexander of the NetherlandsMedian salary for co-pilots: $127,820

Queen Máxima gets a hefty, seven-figure stipend — but it’s good to be king. Her husband, King Willem-Alexander, earns $6.57 million when you include expenditures. That’s much more than he makes at his side gig. According to “Today,” the king has spent the past two decades moonlighting as an airline co-pilot twice a month to escape throne-related stress, and this is also a nice way to see the world. For security reasons, his passengers rarely know they’re being shuttled around by a king.

Held by: Queen Letizia of SpainAverage salary for a reporter or correspondent: $49,770

Born to a mother who was a nurse and a father who was a journalist, Queen Letizia of Spain followed in her father’s footsteps. She worked first as a reporter for several newspapers, then moved into television broadcasting. In 2004, she married Prince Felipe of Asturias, joining a small group of outsiders who married royals — and an even smaller group of outsider divorcées who married royals in the Catholic monarchy. Ten years after their wedding, her husband became King Felipe VI of Spain. Her net worth is $10 million.

Held by: Princess BeatriceHer salary as a coordinating producer at Sony: $27,507

In 2014, a highly publicized hack of Sony’s databases revealed an avalanche of inside corporate information and secrets. Among the revelations was royal family news that rocked Europe: Princess Beatrice, now seventh in line for the British throne and the daughter of Prince Andrew, had been clandestinely working at Sony and earning a paltry-by-royalty-standards $27,507 a year. Her net worth is $5 million.

Held by: Prince WilliamMedian salary for an air ambulance pilot: $69,361

In 2017, Prince William — second in line to the British throne behind only his father, Prince Charles — quit his job to concentrate on his royal obligations. The former military man, who has a net worth of $40 million, had worked as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance service since 2015.

Held by: Princess Martha Louise of NorwayMedian salary for a physical therapist: $87,220

The oldest child of King Harald and Queen Sonja, Princess Martha Louise of Norway married an author, gave birth to three daughters and worked as a Rosen therapist before opening her own educational institute. The Rosen method is an alternative philosophy for physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Her net worth is unknown, although her father, King Harald, is worth $30 million.

Held by: Princess Eugenie of YorkMedian salary for an auction manager: $45,509

Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew, is engaged to marry her fiancé, wine merchant Jack Brooksbank, in the fall of 2018. In 2014, however, the princess left Britain to take a job in New York as a benefits auction manager at a hip online auction house called Paddle8. Her net worth is unknown, but she received a salary of $35,299 for her work at Paddle8. She held that job for two years before returning to London.

Held by: Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of GreeceAverage salary for a fashion designer: $67,326

According to Vanity Fair, heiress Marie-Chantal Miller met Greece’s exiled Crown Prince Pavlos, the son of the former King of Greece, on a blind date. They fell in love, got married and Miller became the Crown Princess of Greece — the title is symbolic since Greece’s monarchy ended in 1974. She also worked hard to develop her eponymous line of children’s clothing and stores. She and her family reportedly are worth $2.23 billion.

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