With the citizens of Great Britain finding their finances in turmoil because of the global credit crunch, it has emerged that the Queen is not immune to such pressures herself.

Queen Elizabeth II, 82, has slipped one place down the global rich list of kings and queens, according to Forbes magazine, the chronicler of the distribution of the world’s wealth. She now sits at 12th, with an estimated net worth of £349 million.

There is a new leader at the helm of the magazine’s regal rich list, with King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, knocking the Sultan of Brunei off the top spot. Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune (£18.79bn), with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings.

The Sultan of Brunei was one of only two royals to record a surprise fall in wealth, dropping to fourth in the list, despite huge rises in the price of oil and gas.

Forbes rate the fortune of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 62, at $20 billion (£10.74bn), adding that Brunei’s oilfields were in danger of drying up. “The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country’s oil production because of depleting reserves,” the magazine said.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco was the only other royal to record a decline in wealth, with his estimated worth, mainly in phosphate mining and agriculture, falling 25 per cent to $1.5 billion (£805 million) after the nation was hit by a drought, and economic growth slowed to 2 per cent.

Overall, it was a good year for monarchies, Forbes said. “As a group, the world’s 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year.”

The magazine noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it “in trust for their nation or territory,” none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine’s famous annual world billionaires ranking.

“Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science,” it added.

Fifteen sovereigns

1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand £18.79 billion

2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates £12.35 billion

3. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia £11.27 billion

4. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei £10.74 billion

5. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai £9.66 billion

6. Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein of Liechtenstein £2.68 billion

7. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar £1.07 billion

8. King Mohammed IV of Morocco £805.4 million

9. Prince Albert II of Monaco £751.7 million

10. Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said of Oman £590.1 million

11. Prince Karim Aga Khan £536.9 million

12. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom £349 million

13. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah of Kuwait £268 million

14. Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands £161 million

15. King Mswati III of Swaziland £107.4 million Source: Forbes / PA

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