The Queen Mother left her estate to her daughter free of inheritance tax under a 1993 deal between the palace and the Treasury

After the 1992 Windsor Castle fire, public anger over who would pay for repairs led the Queen to agree to pay income tax. The 1993 Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation set the terms. One clause exempted from inheritance tax any bequest from a sovereign or a consort to the next sovereign. The stated reason was to keep the monarchy's private estates intact. The Queen Mother died in 2002, aged 101. Her estate was estimated at about £50 million to £70 million, including paintings, jewellery, horses and the Castle of Mey^†. She left most of it to the Queen, so no inheritance tax was paid on it. She had earlier placed money in trust for her great-grandchildren^†. Her will was sealed. Reports said she died owing Coutts several million pounds^†. The same exemption applied when Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022 and left her private estate to Charles III. The 2013 revised memorandum kept the clause.