Hard Times Mean Pay Cut for the Queen

Someone save the Queen. She's taking a pay cut.

One of the consequences of the austerity measures put forth by Parliament recently is a reduction in the annual amount paid to the Royal Monarch. Slated to last for several years, this legislation will, among other things, delay some repairs scheduled or otherwise needed for the royal palaces and put into doubt the rather sizable amount of annual funds needed to sustain the still-glamorous lifestyle of the New Kids on the Heir-to-the-Throne Block, William and Kate (otherwise known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge). No doubt their wedding had something to do with this current downsizing, but never mind.

So on to the numbers. The Government has changed the way it allocates funds for the Royal Monarch, and it's now 15 percent of the profits made by the Crown Estate, during a two-year period. That's nowhere near what it used to be, and the Queen is NOT getting any younger. If you feel inclined to prop up the Royal Treasury, you can certainly visit one of the long list of Royal-held properties and make sure you spend a lot of tourist dollars.

But actually, the Queen is moving with the times. She is getting less, just like workers in the United Kingdom are. The general feeling of austerity shared by many a U.K. worker in these heady days of record number of bank bailouts and national bankruptcies is indeed felt by the Queen, so much so that her annual income in 2010 was a mere 32.1 million pounds. 

However does she survive on such a pittance? Why, in the early 1990s, when all was boom and none was bust, the Queen pocketed more than twice that amount. If this trend continues indefinitely, she might well end up a pensioner and have to borrow books from the library like everyone else.

Come to think of it, there might be something in this, for if the common people see the Queen standing in line and buying produce at the supermarket, they might feel more kindly toward her and the appearance she has to keep up. Besides, you don't hear much from the Queen anymore these days unless it's a solemn occasion or a state dinner or something incredibly A-list like that. She hasn't had a thing to say about the News of the World, now has she? (Maybe she thinks they're somehow still listening.)

But never fear: the Royals are on to it. Word out of Buckingham Palace is that the Royal Family is working on new revenue streams, which do not, repeat, DO NOT include reality television. Too bad. Keeping Up with the Windsors has a nice ring to it.