Pippa Middleton and her hedge fund manager husband have reportedly endured a frosty relationship with neighbours this year after restricting public access to a footpath crossing their £15 million country estate.
The Princess of Wales’s sister is now said to have attracted further criticism in Kintbury, West Berkshire, with some residents describing her as a supposedly “stingy tipper.”
“In country life, it is sensible to maintain reasonably good relations with local people. In our part of West Berkshire, plenty of gossip centres on Pippa Middleton and her husband,” Times columnist Max Hastings wrote.
“Among the stories doing the rounds are claims of miserly tipping and behaviour viewed as more royal than the royals. None of this has made the family especially popular. By contrast, her sister Kate offers a daily masterclass in carrying out royal duties without any apparent pretension.”
Although the claims about Pippa’s tipping habits may have frustrated some locals, members of the Royal Family have also developed reputations for being careful with money and for limiting unnecessary spending.
The late Queen Elizabeth II, despite being able to afford almost anything she wanted, was notably economical. Her habits reportedly included using low-cost heaters at Buckingham Palace, taking steps to avoid food waste and saving Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons for future use.
Her daughter, Princess Anne, is well known for wearing outfits from her existing wardrobe, while King Charles and Prince William have both faced public scrutiny over their finances and tax arrangements.
Here are some of the Royal Family’s most talked-about money-saving habits, from re-wearing clothes to cutting household costs.
Pippa Middleton has reportedly been branded a “stingy tipper” by disgruntled residents in Kintbury, West Berkshire
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II was widely regarded as a restrained spender, with the late monarch believed to have looked for practical ways to reduce costs wherever possible.
In 2020, for example, a small £30 two-bar electric heater was photographed in the high-ceilinged Audience Room at Buckingham Palace, rather than an elaborate heating solution or roaring open fire.
The modest heater was reportedly just one example of the cost-conscious approach followed inside the Queen’s official residence. Palace sources had previously described her preference for keeping spending under control.
The Express reported that bulbs exceeding 40 watts were not permitted, while staff were expected to switch off lights when rooms were not in use. Old newspapers were also shredded and repurposed as bedding for horses in the Queen’s much-loved stables.
Household materials were given a second life whenever possible. Parcel string was kept for reuse, while worn sheets and dusters were repaired rather than immediately replaced.
Queen Elizabeth II was known for avoiding extravagance and taking practical steps to keep household spending under control
“After Christmas, Elizabeth would gather the wrapping paper and ribbons, smooth them out and put them aside to save,” author Kate Williams wrote in Young Elizabeth: The Making Of Our Queen. “It is a habit that continues to this day.”
Former royal chef Darren McGrady recalled in 2012 that the Queen once returned a lemon used as a garnish, explaining that the kitchen could make use of it again.
In the bathrooms, water-displacement devices known as “hippos” were placed inside toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water used with every flush.
At Balmoral, damage to the walls was reportedly repaired with patches of wallpaper purchased by Queen Victoria more than a century earlier.
Royal author Adam Helliker previously revealed how the Queen recycled old bedsheets from the Royal Yacht Britannia to use them at her Scottish holiday home.
Princess Anne
The Princess Royal may have an estimated personal fortune of between £15million to £20million, but she consistently showcases her love for thrift over luxury
The Princess Royal may have an estimated personal fortune of between £15million to £20million, but she consistently showcases her love for thrift over luxury.
Often fondly dubbed the Queen of Recycling, Princess Anne is famous for her timeless wardrobe filled with pieces she gives new life to decades later.
Over the years, she has breathed new life into an impressive collection of coats, dresses, hats and handbags – some of which have been in rotation for decades.
Speaking about her approach to fashion, she once remarked: ‘A good suit goes on forever. If it is properly made and has a classic look, you can wear it ad infinitum. The economy was bred into me.’
In 2012, she was reported to have turned down a gorgeous sea-view room at a picturesque harbourside hotel in Oban, Scotland, to save herself £40.
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Anne is also known to run a highly unpretentious household – and once famously joked that a Ryvita cracker is a sufficient starter for guests.
Meanwhile, when Anne tied the knot with Sir Timothy Laurence on December 12, 1992, she wore the same jacket and skirt as at Royal Ascot months before.
‘After her wedding date was set, the woman who is more at home in jodhpurs, riding boots and tweed jackets, rifled through her wardrobe and resurrected the suit for the low-key wedding ceremony,’ the Daily Mail reported at the time.
The Prince and Princess of Wales
Kate and William have sought to cut back on costs since taking on their roles as the Prince and Princess of Wales. However, William has received criticism for his financial choices, particularly his reluctance to share his tax contributions
Kate and Prince William have sought to cut back on costs since taking on their roles as the Prince and Princess of Wales, opting for a growing number of UK staycations and even using public modes of transport instead of private travel.
In 2018, Kate revealed that their home, and in particular their children’s bedrooms, are kitted out with affordable Ikea furniture.
Meanwhile, in their former Kensington Palace home, the couple were reported to have cushions from Oka, which were previously listed for between £30-£60.
The prince and princess do not have a full-time, live-in royal chef, but instead prefer to cook and prepare dinner themselves at home, with Kate said to be particularly fond of roast chicken, while the family also enjoy Italian food and a vegetable curry.
In a move away from the lavish restaurants typically expected of a royal, the pair are partial to a Sunday roast at the Dabbling Duck in Norfolk, where mains fall at around a £20 price point.
Likewise, the Crown Inn in East Rudham, Norfolk has previously been dubbed the royal couple’s favourite pub – with the pair last spotted enjoying a meal together there in 2016.
The royal couple have also not shied away from a royal re-wear. In 2015, Prince George made his Buckingham Palace balcony debut for Trooping the Colour in a white and blue outfit that directly resembled one previously worn by his father in 1984.
But William has received criticism for his financial choices, particularly his reluctance to share his tax contributions in the past.
In May, the prince, who had refused to reveal how much tax he paid as heir to the throne despite his father doing so when he was prince of wales, has also caved to the inevitable.
In 2024/25 he paid £7.7million to the taxman and a further £8.34million in 2023-24.
It came after a poll by The Mail on Sunday found that 54 per cent of people want Prince William to be more transparent about where his income comes from and how it is spent.
King Charles
King Charles has also been known to be remarkably frugal – with Tom Parker Bowles previously revealing that the King has a zero-waste dining rule, with leftover items saved, repurposed or re-served the following day
King Charles has also been known to be remarkably frugal – with Tom Parker Bowles previously revealing that the King has a zero-waste dining rule, with leftover items saved, repurposed or re-served the following day.
Charles’s desire to slim down the monarchy has also been viewed by many as a money-saving tactic.
However, increased scrutiny on the King’s finances saw Charles become the first British monarch to voluntarily publish his personal tax bill earlier this year.
Questions around transparency on tax intensified after revelations that the Cornwall estate, along with the Duchy of Lancaster, generated millions by charging public bodies, such as the NHS, the armed forces and schools for use of its land.
Buckingham Palace revealed he paid more than £12.9million in 2024/25 to HMRC and a further £11.7million the previous year, putting him among the country’s top 100 taxpayers.
Keeper of the Privy Purse, James Chalmers, said the request to reveal his combined income and capital gains had come personally from the King, who is determined to aid clarity and accessibility around royal finances which are under more scrutiny than ever.
Norman Baker, a former Government minister and expert in royal finances, said: ‘We need to know why the monarch is costing £500million a year, why has he got so many houses and what’s he going to do to slim down the cost of the monarchy.’
King Charles has also faced public scrutiny over staff compensation and reports of low wages and high turnover among gardeners at Highgrove House.
At one stage, in March 2022, half of the gardening team were earning minimum wage, an investigation by the Sunday Times found.