Prince Harry will reportedly "undoubtedly" accept an £8 million royal inheritance apparently banked for him as a 40th birthday present.

Royal expert Hugo Vickers, 72, has now told The Sun the timing of the reported cash injection could not have come at a better time for Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 43, with whom he has children Archie, five, and three-year-old daughter Lilibet - as they lead a lavish lifestyle with staff at their $14 million mansion in Montecito, California.

Hugo said: "No doubt it would be helpful because I think he leads a very expensive lifestyle.

"Hopefully he will put the money to good use - £8 million can disappear pretty fast in a place like Montecito.

"The couple have an enormous staff, a big house to maintain, and cars.

"Harry has to pay for his own security too which we know he takes very seriously."

And former royal butler Grant Harrold, 46, told the New York Post about being sure Harry will take the cash: "I've no doubt that Harry will accept it.

"It's money that's owed to him, money that's coming to him. I don't think he will decline the money.

"It's inheritance so it's his right. It's already something that has been set in place for years now."

The Queen Mother, who died aged 101 in 2002, apparently put aside a tax-free £19 million to leave to her great-grandchildren, according to The Times.

It added the inheritances were divided into two installments - one to be given to Princes William and Harry when they turned 21, and another on their 40th birthdays.

A former palace aide previously told The Times: "There was a trust fund set up at the time.

"It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way.

"It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them."

Sources added Harry may have been left more money than his older brother William, 42, from the inheritance.