MAGGIE’S MAGIC FORTUNE REVEALED: Harry Potter icon Dame Maggie Smith leaves whopping £16m estate to actor sons — as truth behind secret country retreat is unveiled

SCREEN legend Dame Maggie Smith has left her eye-watering £16 million fortune to her two actor sons, newly released legal documents reveal.

The beloved Harry Potter and Downton Abbey icon passed away peacefully at the age of 89, leaving behind a staggering legacy from a dazzling career that spanned over seven decades.

Dame Maggie Smith left a £16million fortune almost entirely to her two sons

Dame Maggie was perhaps best known for playing Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films

She also played the cantankerous octogenarian Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey

Now, official probate records show the full extent of the national treasure’s wealth, confirming how her multi-million-pound fortune will be split — and revealing the ultimate fate of her most cherished private hideaway.

CASH AND CASTLES

Public probate documents show Dame Maggie’s estate was valued at a cool £16,003,613, leaving a net total of £15.98 million after liabilities were settled.

The entirety of the fortune will be inherited by her two sons:

• Toby Stephens, 55, star of Die Another Day and Black Sails.

• Chris Larkin, 57, who featured in Master and Commander.

Both brothers followed directly in their famous mother’s showbiz footsteps, born during her first marriage to acting legend Sir Robert Stephens.

A close friend revealed: “Maggie was fiercely protective of her boys and worked tirelessly throughout her life to ensure they and her five grandchildren would be completely set up for the future.”

SECRET SUSSEX SANCTUARY

While fans expected her vast fortune to make headlines, it is the fate of her cherished 15th-century farmhouse in West Sussex that has left movie lovers feeling deeply emotional.

The Grade II-listed, five-bedroom country haven near Fittleworth served as the star’s ultimate refuge from the bright lights of Hollywood for more than 40 years. Complete with its own vineyard, stables, and historic barns, the picturesque red-brick estate was where she raised her sons and retreated during her toughest personal battles.

Rather than selling off the land or passing the deed over directly, Dame Maggie took clever steps to safeguard the historic sanctuary forever.

Probate records confirm she placed the entire Sussex estate into a family trust established alongside Chris and Toby. The move ensures the beloved family home remains safely protected within the bloodline for generations to come, preserving the personal sanctuary where the acting powerhouse was simply “Mum.”

A LIFE OFF-SCREEN

Despite snagging two Academy Awards, five BAFTAs, and playing world-famous roles like Professor Minerva McGonagall and Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, Dame Maggie famously shunned the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown.

While co-stars partied at star-studded awards galas, the double-Oscar winner preferred pottering around her Sussex garden or sipping tea in total quiet.

Her will, originally drafted back in 1996 and updated in late 2019, also included a heart-warming clause ensuring royalties and copyrights linked to her late second husband, playwright Beverley Cross, pass directly to his surviving children, Philippa and Shaun.

Fans worldwide have shared emotional tributes online following the estate reveal. One heartbroken admirer wrote: “She gave us so much magic on screen, but it’s comforting to know her private sanctuary remains in her family’s hands.”

Another added: “A true class act right to the very end.”