Who was wealthier: Queen or The Queen?
It’s a battle of the monarchs – but when putting up the rock and roll gods of Queen against the actual late Queen, there can only be one victor. Both lived lives of pomp and flair, were regaled the world over, and naturally lapped up their millions, yet only one royal household emerged supreme in their riches for the rest of time – and, as you might have guessed, it is not the seemingly obvious one.
Yes, it actually did become the case that Queen, the band, ended up richer than Queen Elizabeth herself. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2019, the three surviving members of the group – made up of Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon – cumulatively amassed a fortune of £445million, compared to the royal Queen’s comparatively measly £370million wealth. However, for the rockers, it came off the back of one particular project that sent them soaring straight into the musical stratosphere for the 21st century.
Love or loathe Queen’s 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, there is no denying the box office rapture of the film kept the band – and particularly May and Taylor, who worked as consultants on the production – well in the flush. To that end, the billions the Oscar-winning movie raked in boosted May’s money from £135m the previous year to £160m, Taylor’s from £130m to £155m, and Deacon’s at £130m.
As such, the cumulative wealth of the three puts them above the true head of the Royal Family – though, come to think of it, they do have a pretty valid claim to the throne. Maybe they should just storm Buckingham Palace and insert themselves as the new monarchs of the country. If one’s thing’s for certain, it would make many people happy, and their main man Freddie Mercury would definitely be proud.
How many records did Queen sell?
While Queen’s collective wealth was shored up above the real royals due to their venture to the big screen, it goes without saying that they were already well on their way to achieving this long before the lights of Hollywood came calling. Considered one of the best rock bands ever and one of the best-selling artists of all time, it’s fair to assume that their bank accounts have looked pretty healthy for quite some time.
Having sold over 300million records worldwide over the course of their tenure, Queen quickly capitalised on the success set in their sights from the very beginning. Scoring a top five position for every single one of their albums apart from their debut, it’s clear that despite every trial, tribulation, and tragedy thrown their way, the quartet were watertight when it came to harnessing rock and roll global rapture.
In that sense, the fact that the baton was eventually passed – at least in a financial sense – from one royal entity to another is hardly surprising. The Kings of Queen are the reigning money monarchs, proving once and for all that they really are “the champions of the world”.
