The Royal Family Lives a Surprisingly Frugal Lifestyle, Here’s How They Cut Down Wastefulness

Advisor September 5, 2019

At face value, you’d be forgiven to think that the members of the British monarch are big spenders. The truth, however, is that they try as much as possible to live frugally, and the Queen has ensured that she’s passed down this trait to all her children and grandchildren.

King George IV made sure his daughter understood the value of being thrifty

Queen Elizabeth II learned the same from her father, King George IV, who for part of his life led quite the thrifty life himself. During his reign, it was said that he had lines drawn on royal baths, limiting bath water to five inches. It wasn’t that the family couldn’t offset the water bill, but why have it shoot up unnecessarily?

Cutting Down Costs

From the Queen to other members of her family, the British royals have demonstrated on more than one occasion that they’re all for cutting down costs. Take the Cambridge couple for starters. Kate Middleton definitely knows that compared to eating out, home cooking is without a doubt the more economical option, and she was frequently spotted shopping for groceries when they called Wales home.

Prince Philip is also in on this secret, and the Queen’s husband has always been big on barbecuing. His grandson, Prince Harry, seems to have carried on with the tradition, seeing as he proposed to his then-girlfriend (and now wife) Meghan Markle while roasting chicken.

Meghan loves her roasted chicken with an engagement to boot

Obviously, the Queen can comfortably afford to repair Balmoral Castle, right? However, she chooses not to incur extra costs whenever the castle is in need of repairs, choosing to have the walls mended using wallpapers from when Queen Victoria was head of the monarch.

Did your parents ever raise hell when you left unnecessary lights on in the house? The Queen also did it a few years back. In 2011, a hefty £2.2 million Buckingham Palace electricity bill was the cause of major concern for the monarch, and she called for signs all around the palace asking her staff to switch off lights that were not in use to be put up. She also took the initiative upon herself, frequently walking through the palace’s halls switching unwanted lights off.

Wasteful Christmas? Not In The Queen’s Household

Christmas just so happens to be a season when we are at our most wasteful, no? Not the Queen though. According to Kate Williams (royal biographer), Queen Elizabeth II saves up gift wrappings each Christmas for them to be used the following year. When’s the last time you saved wrappings from your Christmas or birthday presents?

Whenever we’re out for a meal and are unable to eat it all, it’s normal for us to take home the leftovers. But would you picture the royals doing the same? In 2017, Meghan Markle accompanied Prince Harry to the Invictus Games, this being her first public appearance as his girlfriend. The following morning, she was spotted carrying leftovers from the previous night. Wow! That caught many by surprise but cemented the couple’s down-to-earth attitude.

The Queen boarding a train to Sandringham

If you’re a commuter and take the train, you may very well know that at times, it’s not all pomp and flair riding the train. The Queen knows this as well, but it doesn’t stop her from regular train rides to Sandringham. A single ride costs her roughly £38. Who knew.