Spanish Royal Family Takes Pay Cut Amid Public Protests

Spain's royal family has agreed to take a pay cut amid growing outrage over reductions in public sector wages, staggering unemployment and a deep recession.

King Juan Carlos will see his annual royal salary of 292,000 euros ($357,233) cut by 7.1 percent, or 20,900 euros ($25,660), matching cuts faced by public sector workers on a percentage basis.

Other members of the Spanish royal family are following suit, totaling roughly 100,000 euros ($122,340) in cuts to the 8.3 million-euro ($10.2 million) royal budget for 2012.

Public sector workers, including firefighters and police, took to the streets to protest recently announced cuts to their wages. The removal of Christmas bonuses for state employees amounted to a 7.1 percent cut in their annual salaries.

Juan Carlos recently came under fire for an extravagant hunting trip to Botswana while the country's unemployment rate lingers close to 25 percent and the government continues to institute drastic austerity policies in response to the European debt crisis. He subsequently made a public apology for the indulgent expenditure.