Royals Who Live Insanely Lavish Lives

Royals live insanely lavish lives. At least, many of them do. It's no secret that members of royal families just aren't like the rest of us commoners. Aside from the fame that comes along with being born into royalty — not to mention the media scrutiny that royals face — royals tend to be pretty rich. While some members of royal families around the world live relatively ordinary lives and choose not to spend too much of their wealth, others take the opposite route and spend the family fortune like there's no tomorrow.

We're not talking about buying a nice car and living in a palace, either. These royals are taking things to a completely new level of opulence. The royals with the most extravagant lifestyles are living in the lap of luxury; wearing only the finest couture, throwing outrageously expensive parties, traveling the globe, and generally having the absolute best of everything. From playboy princes to fashion-setting queens, these royals are living insanely lavish lives.

Technically, Greek Princess Maria-Olympia isn't really a royal since Greece abolished its monarchy back in the 1970s, but the fact that there isn't a throne to inherit hasn't stopped the family from living lavish lives. According to Hello!, Princess Maria-Olympia is the oldest daughter of Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal. In addition to being a socialite, the princess is a model. In 2016, she was the face of Michael Kors' "The Walk" campaign.

The princess shows off her jet-setting lifestyle on her Instagram account where, as of this writing, she has 179,000 followers. According to Insider, Princess Maria-Olympia had quite the cosmopolitan upbringing, having been born in Greece and raised in London before enrolling in a Swiss boarding school and then heading off to college in New York.

Maria-Olympia told Vanity Fair that she considers Kate Middleton among her fashion influences, but says she's "younger and much more experimental" in her own style. The fashionista's wardrobe includes plenty of designer clothes, including looks from Valentino, Dior, Balmain, and Louis Vuitton. 

Juan Carlos is no longer the king of Spain, having abdicated in favor of his son, Felipe, in 2014. While he claimed to be stepping down by choice, it's likely the decision was at least partially due to a need to improve the monarchy's image after a series of scandals plagued the latter years of his rule. According to Newsweek, there were many. 

In 2012, the king was criticized for a pricey hunting expedition in Botswana, during which he paid $15,000 to hunt an elephant — plus nearly $9 thousand per week just to be there. The hunt enraged animal rights activists and was also seen as an unnecessary extravagance while the country was facing an economic crisis. The Telegraph reported that the trip led to many people demanding his abdication, although it would be a couple more years before his son took the throne. 

In 2013, Juan Carlos gave up the use of his lavish yacht in light of the declining economy. The yacht was given to him as a gift for state use in 2000 and reportedly cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars just to refuel.

When Princess Madeleine of Sweden married New York banker Christopher O'Neill in 2013, it was one of the most over-the-top weddings ever. According to the New York Post, she wore a Valentino gown with a 13-foot train. Nearly 500 royals, socialites, and celebrities were at the impressive affair, which included performances by Marie Fredriksson of the pop duo Roxette and Peter Joback, who starred in Broadway's Phantom of the Opera.

It was a lavish wedding that most people can only dream of, but Princess Madeleine was no stranger to such opulence. Frequently criticized for her extravagant lifestyle, Princess Madeleine was known in Sweden as something of a wild child and was reportedly known as "Sweden's party princess" in her early 20s as she was often spotted in high-end nightclubs. Even when clubbing, Princess Madeleine was always stylishly dressed.

Years after her wedding, Princess Madeleine is still living quite comfortably. In January 2020, Hola! reported that the princess and her family were renting a $3 million Miami property, although the outlet noted they would later be moving to another (undoubtedly lavish) home.

Saudi Arabia has no shortage of wealthy royals, but one of the most extravagant is the crown prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Prince Mohammed has a particular love for lavish goods, and isn't afraid to drop hundreds of millions on a painting. In 2017, he was identified as the previously unknown buyer of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci called "Salvator Mundi." According to The Wall Street Journal, the painting was purchased by proxy for a record-setting $450.3 million. It may sound like a lot of money — and it is — but according to Celebrity Net Worth, Prince Mohammed is worth an estimated $5 billion, so he can clearly afford it.

"As far as my private expenses, I'm a rich person and not a poor person," he once told 60 Minutes. "I'm a member of the ruling family that existed for hundreds of years before the founding of Saudi Arabia," he continued. "We own very large lots of land ... But what I do as a person is to spend part of my personal income on charity. I spend at least 51% on people and 49 on myself."

Prince Andrew, one of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's four children, has long been labeled the problem child of the British royal family. According to Vanity Fair, he was nicknamed "Air-Miles Andy" by the press after taking a $5,000 helicopter ride to travel just 50 miles — to lunch. Prince Andrew also allegedly complained of money woes. He was appointed as the U.K.'s trade envoy in 2001, but reportedly said his $408,000 annual stipend, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund business trips, was simply not enough.

In 2011, Prince Andrew was forced to step down from his position as trade envoy after news broke of his friendship with sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein, but continued to live large. In 2019, Page Six reported that Prince Andrew seemed to have a mysterious source of cash, as his lifestyle, which includes luxury vacations and a £13 million (about $17.2 million) ski chalet, which is well beyond the means of the income of £249,000 (about $326,000) his mother paid him.

In late 2019, his scandalous life led to him stepping down from official royal duties, although he remained living in the lap of luxury in the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Jordan's Queen Rania has a designer wardrobe that has been admired by some fans and criticized by others — mainly those who don't think the royal should be spending quite so much money on clothes. In 2011, Slate likened her to a modern-day Marie Antoinette. "Rather than speaking to the very people she seeks to represent, Rania speaks beyond them," Sana Saeed of Muslimah Media Watch told the outlet. Queen Rania may be well-dressed, but in a country where an estimated 25 percent live in poverty, this is viewed as an unnecessary extravagance.

Queen Rania was also criticized for her lavish 40th birthday party, which, according to the Spectator (via Slate), had 600 guests from across the globe. In spite of a water shortage, water was used to dampen the sand to make it easier for guests to walk.

In 2018, fashion blog UFO No More calculated the cost of Queen Rania's 2017 wardrobe, citing the average price of clothing per piece at around €1,700 (roughly $1,900). The palace later issued a statement (via Hello!) stating that she receives many of her designer clothes as gifts. 

Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei flaunts his insanely lavish life on Instagram, where he has become something of an influencer. The privileged royal has more than a million followers, as of this writing, and those followers can't seem to get enough of living vicariously through his extravagant exploits.

Considering his father, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is worth an estimated $20 billion, the prince's life is far from ordinary. However, he tries to stay more grounded than his dad whose extravagances, according to The New York Times, include a gold-plated Rolls-Royce. "The important thing is how to use that attention in a positive way," Prince Abdul Mateen told GQ Thailand. "When you have such an audience or attention, it's also a great opportunity to do something good, to spread, or create awareness for an important issue etc. Another thing is to be grounded and humble at the same time."

Being grounded doesn't hinder the prince's jet-setting lifestyle, though, nor does it prevent him from living in a palace or posting pictures on Instagram of his luxury watches, and high-priced cars.