King Juan Carlos and Prince Felipe get back last July’s salary drop

King Juan Carlos and Prince Felipe have both recovered the salaries they enjoyed before July last year when, in solidarity with government workers stripped of bonus payments by spending cuts, they decided to lower their wages by the equivalent amount, 7.1 percent. The move meant a drop of 20,000 euros for the king and 10,000 for Felipe.

Nevertheless, the breakdown of the Royal Household accounts published on Monday morning reveals that the king has decided to cut the money paid to Queen Sofía and the princesses Elena and Cristina by 55,000 euros. Between them they will now have a maximum of 260,000 euros to spend on appearance expenses for 2013.

The king has also reduced the number of official vehicles from 72 to 45.

The overall Royal Household budget has been reduced by four percent and for the first time dips below eight million euros (7,933,710 euros).

However, that sum does not include royal trips, paid for by the Foreign Ministry; nor security, which is covered by the Interior Ministry; vehicles, covered by the Finance Ministry; or the cost of maintaining the Zarzuela Palace and other royal residences, which are met by National Heritage.