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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II talks to staff members as she officially opened the …
LONDON - Britain may have enjoyed a lavish royal wedding but Queen Elizabeth II must put up with shabby furnishings and leaking palace roofs in austerity Britain, according to the annual report on royal finances released Monday.
Official accounts for the royal family show that British taxpayers spent 32.1 million pounds ($51.7 million) supporting the monarchy in the past year, 5.3 per cent less than the year before. Much of the saving came from reducing the bill for maintenance of royal residences, from 15.4 million pounds to 11.9 million pounds.
"The queen is very keen that the Royal Household should continue to reduce its expenditure in line with public expenditure reductions," said the royal family's treasurer, Sir Alan Reid.
Queen Elizabeth II puts off palace repairs, costs British taxpayers less in the past year
