She'll still get about $50 million a year in taxpayers' money to run her palaces and travel the world, but there's word from the U.K. that Queen Elizabeth II has had her "pay" frozen until at least 2015.
Hard times, after all, require sacrifices.
The Sunday Times ( which is behind a paywall) broke the story over the weekend. The Daily Mailfollows up to add that Prince Charles will now be responsible for paying "the costs of providing staff for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge" — Prince William and Kate.
As ABC News says, this is all "a sign of dire economic times across the pond." And it says that the tighter times are showing in another way:
"The queen has even approved renting out fancy rooms at St. James's Palace as party venues during the 2012 London Olympics, according to the Associated Press. Companies that hold royal warrants – those that have longstanding ties to the royal family – will be given the opportunity to rent the spaces."
The Daily Mail says the queen's funding "will now equal 15 per cent of the profits made two years previously by the Crown Estate. ... The Crown Estate includes Regent Street, Windsor Great Park and over 50 per cent of the UK's shoreline."
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