Frugal habits of the British royal family
Not all royals are big spenders. In fact, many members of the British royal family are actually quite frugal. And we're not just talking about cutting down on banquet expenses either. We mean regular things many of us try to save money on, such as energy bills and furniture.
Saving energy
Here is Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 with former premier of South Australia Mike Rann and his wife, Sasha Rann. An electric radiator can be seen nestled in the fireplace.
Cooking from scratch
Prince William and his family like to cook homemade meals from scratch. It seems like the Prince of Wales acquired the skills during his boarding school days at Eton College.
Frugal Anne
Also worth mentioning is the outfit Princess Anne wore in both 1983 and 2015. She doesn’t seem to buy new clothes that often, and indeed is one of the most frugal royals in the family.
Doggy bag
King Charles is known to pack a doggy bag and take home leftovers. According to Charles' former private secretary, Clive Alderton, "He gets any leftovers wrapped up and brought back for his next meal, and the next one."
Water rationing
This may not be a reality today, but the royal family had to ration water during World War II, just like everyone else. George VI had black lines painted into baths, which marked the limit of five inches of hot water that each person was allocated per bath.
Simple breakfast
Queen Camilla is a fan of scrambled eggs, according to her son Tom Parker Bowles. Zara Tindall also likes to keep it simple by starting the day with Greek yogurt and honey.
Flying economy
Prince William was spotted flying coach on an American Airlines flight in 2014, and Prince Harry flew economy on British Airways in 2018.
Inexpensive beauty products
The late Queen was known for wearing Essie’s Ballet Slippers, a light pink nail polish that only cost just under £8 (approximately US$9.73) a bottle.
Saving on electricity
This is a habit that has been passed down for generations. And it does make a difference on electricity bills when your home has 775 rooms!
And it looks like King Charles inherited the habit from his mother and passed it on to his children. According to Prince Harry, his father is "a stickler for turning lights off. And that's now something that I'm obsessed with as well."
Reusing wrapping paper
This royal Christmas tradition is a particularly environmentally-friendly one. Every year, millions of rolls of wrapping paper are thrown away, but not in Buckingham Palace! The Queen was known to collect up the wrapping paper and ribbons and save them to be reused.
Treating kids to junk food
Princess Diana used to secretly take her children to McDonald's, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady. "The three of them would nip to McDonald’s for a Big Mac and fries before coming back to watch 'Blind Date,'" he said.
Simple gifts
Expensive gifts are discouraged among royals, and this applies to newcomers to the family, too. Meghan Markle once reportedly gave Queen Elizabeth II a singing hamster, which made her giggle.
