15 surprisingly frugal habits of the British royal family

When you imagine a royal breakfast, you probably picture an impressive spread of poached eggs, smoked salmon, exotic fruits, and endless pastries. Well, Queen Elizabeth knows what she likes, and it’s quite the frugal choice. She pours herself a bowl of a simple cereal like cornflakes or Special K – kept fresh in a plastic container instead of the box – to eat with fruit.

Here are some healthy breakfast ideas to start each day right.

Biographer Kate Williams reveals that Queen Elizabeth doesn’t let used wrapping paper go to waste. Since she was young, Her Majesty has been saving gift-wrap and ribbons from the bin, then smoothing them out so they can be reused.

Find out what the Queen gives her staff for Christmas.

Most people don’t think twice about outfit repeating, but the royal family is well aware that people are looking at – and remembering – everything they wear. Other celebrities might wear an outfit in public once before rejecting it, but the royal family turns its nose at that wastefulness. Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth have both been known to wear the same outfit for more than one official engagement. Neither of them comes close to Princess Anne, who has kept favourite outfits on her rotation for as long as 35 years.

Find out which colour you’ll probably never see Meghan Markle or Kate Middleton wear.

With as much money as Queen Elizabeth has, you’d think a simple pair of worn-out gloves would be tossed in the bin. But Her Majesty is against that kind of waste, washing and mending her gloves instead of ordering new ones. In fact, she still has pairs from 40 years ago.

With the world watching Kate Middleton’s 2011 marriage to Prince William, you’d think she would hire professionals to make her makeup TV-ready. Nope. The now-Duchess of Cambridge passed on the pro help, and applied her makeup by herself, according to People. She did take a few private lessons from a makeup artist before the big day, though.

Check out these ‘no-makeup’ makeup tricks to look naturally gorgeous.

Live-in chefs aren’t the norm for every royal. Kate Middleton reportedly does most of the cooking for her family, including making Prince William’s favourite diner: roast chicken. Prince Harry has also been spotted doing his own grocery shopping. Wonder what might be in their shopping carts?

Don’t miss these etiquette rules everyone in the royal family must follow.

To the family who has everything, gifts aren’t about trying to outdo each other, so they give joke gifts instead. In 2019, Meghan Markle reportedly gave Queen Elizabeth a singing hamster that made her future grandmother-in-law laugh out loud.

Here are some things you probably didn’t know about Queen Elizabeth II.

While Queen Elizabeth won’t take commercial flights, her grandchildren have been spotted on them. Prince William was spotted flying economy on an American Airlines flight from Memphis to Dallas in 2014, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle travelled economy on British Airways to ring in the 2018 New Year in Nice.

Read on for the things Queen Elizabeth II never travels without.

With an estimated 40,000 lights in Buckingham Palace, electricity bills add up fast. That’s why in 2011, Queen Elizabeth posted signs around the building, ordering palace staff to turn lights off when they aren’t using them, according to Financial Times. Her Majesty was so serious about the initiative that she would walk through palace halls switching off lights, an employee revealed at the time.

Read on for the 9 things Queen Elizabeth II actually has the power to do.

Sure, Prince George and Princess Charlotte could afford to wear new, stylish clothing all the time – but William and Kate have other plans for their kids. Princess Charlotte has been spotted wearing shoes her uncle Prince Harry wore more than 30 years before, when he was two. Meanwhile, Prince George has worn an outfit that his dad had originally worn to Prince Harry’s christening back in 1984. Some things never go out of style.

Don’t miss these unbearably cute Princess Charlotte moments.