The Queen's cousins are not particularly wealthy and she takes care of their expenses to ensure they have a life of dignity. Katharine, Duchess of Kent has her own private money from her father and Princess Alexandra's husband, Sir Agnus, left her a small fortune, but the rest of the family is far from rich.
The Duke of Gloucester inherited part of his mother's fortune, which was quite considerable as a Montagu-Scott, and is well-off. So, when it comes down to it, having a lot of valuable jewels, that no one wears often and are of minimal historical value, doesn't make sense when you could use the cash.
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