Queen Elizabeth
Queen takes pay freeze Reuters

You know the economy is in a dire shape when even Royals start to take cuts out of their pay checks. Queen Elizabeth has agreed to freeze her annual 'salary' until at least 2015.

The austerity measures have come off the back of the economic downturn. This will be the sixth consecutive year the queen would have received a cut in her income, the Daily Mail reported. She will now receive £30m year, a stark contrast to the £77.3m she received between 1991-1992

Chancellor George Osborne announced that the Queen's salary, funded by tax payer's money, will be frozen until April 2013. She will receive £30m annually with an additional 1m to fund the cost of the diamond jubilee. The new measure will probably mean that repairs to the royal palace will go one hold.

Royal funding for travel and other expenses in the palace will no longer come from the pockets of tax payers; instead profits from the Crown Estate will be the main source of royal expenditure, according to the Daily Mail.

The Crown Estate has estimated that in 2014 it will donate £250m to the Treasury, suggesting that the Queen will be paid £37.5m in the year to 2016.

The freeze will also mean that Prince Charles will be in charge of funding the costs of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Charles's income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, which gave him a £17.8m income last year. His income not only supports William and Kate but also Prince harry and his future family, according to the Daily Mail.

During her pay freeze the queen has agreed to rent out rooms at St James's Palace for royal warrants to throw parties during the 2012 Olympics, the Associated Press reported.

Here is how Twitter responded to the Queen's pay freeze

katyscarlett5 Kerri Crawford

Our government officials need to take a lesson from QueenElizabeth! Pay Freeze for Queen in UK Austerity Measuresgma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blog...

danish_novelist Peter H. Fogtdal

Just read that Queen Elizabeth will get a pay freeze. Does this mean she'll have to kill ten corgis and Prince Philip to survive?

andydef Andrew DeFeo

Queen Elizabeth II is facing a two-year pay freeze. Poor woman. #sarcasmsign

sweresch Simon Weresch

Thanks Queen Elizabeth for teaching me that some still have enough money to put $800,000 to buy a horse while taking a 2 yearpay freeze

celvoz Celina De Leon

You Know Times are Tough When...Queen Elizabeth's 'Pay' Has Been Frozen: n.pr/vG3Exk #GreatRecession

artisticdork mike.

Poor poor millionaire... RT @nprnews: Queen Elizabeth's 'Pay' Has Been Frozen n.pr/ugKrBi

2 hours ago