Money-Saving Tips from the Queen
Written for CBSNews.com by London celebrity journalist Neil Sean.
Known for her frugality after many years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II has come up with a series of money-saving measures to generate much needed cash to maintain the royal palaces.
The 83-year-old monarch is going back to the dark days of World War II for some of them and she even uses the motto "make do and mend" when speaking to many of her staff.
Photos: The Queen at 80
Photos: Her Royal Life
The British Royal Family
A source reveals, "The Queen hates waste and often reprimands people for what she sees as blatant laziness when it comes to discarding things that could be used again."
Listed below are just a few of the reported measures that the Queen likes to see her many royal servants undertake:
-Turn down the heat; wear another cardigan if you're cold.
-Cut back on designer and formal wear with many dresses making a fourth and fifth outing at designated events.
-Use bicycles to get around Highgrove, and other royal palaces by the end of the year. This also will cut down on carbon emissions.
-Plan menus seven days in advance so that every ounce of food is utilized, with guests often being served new concoctions from leftovers from state banquets.
-Ditch limousines in favor of a new cab service and use more public transportation, such as train and economy plane journeys, for royal visits.
-Don't waste money on cards and flowers. HRH The Queen is a big fan of E-cards, thus saving paper and postage.
-Reintroduce candlelight at State banquets and for small evening gatherings and entertaining.
-Keep Buckingham Palace open to visitors for longer periods to generate more income for the upkeep of royal palaces.
-Recycle all bars of soap from all royal homes and turn them into liquid foam bath oil.
-Limit gifts to nothing more than $4. The Queen herself has asked for modest gifts, even from visiting heads of state.
After such a long reign, she says, she simply has as many gifts as she could possibly desire, thus any dignitary or visiting head of state must not spend more than $4 when offering a gift.
A source reveals "she would much prefer someone to think of an ingenious and somewhat funny gift that she could easily remember them by."
BY NEIL SEAN