Pippa Middleton is branded a 'stingy tipper' by disgruntled locals... so, who are the most frugal members of The Firm?

Pippa Middleton and her hedge fund boss husband have been far from popular with their neighbours this year after barring the public from using a footpath running through their £15million country estate.

Now, the sister of the Princess of Wales is said to have fallen even further out of favour due to being a 'stingy tipper', according to disgruntled locals in the West Berkshire village of Kintbury. 

'In country life, it is prudent to rub along reasonably peaceably with the locals. In our corner of West Berkshire, much local gossip focuses on Pippa Middleton and her husband,' wrote the Times' Max Hastings. 

'Other snippets rattle around, alleging stingy tipping, more-royal-than-the-royals behaviour. None of this makes the family entirely beloved. Yet sister Kate gives a daily masterclass in how to do the princess bit with absolute lack of pretension.'

But while Pippa's alleged reluctance to tip may be viewed unfavourably by locals, several members of the Royal Family have also been famously shrewd with their money - and sought to cut back on extravagant costs. 

Despite having the means to afford most things she desired, the late Queen Elizabeth II was remarkably frugal - using budget fireplace heaters in Buckingham Palace, banning food waste and reusing Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons.

Her daughter, Princess Anne, has become famous for a wardrobe filled with royal re-wears, while King Charles and Prince William have previously faced scrutiny over their tax contributions and finances. 

Read on to discover the most stingy Royal Family members, and the savvy ways members of the Firm have scaled back on spending...

The late Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II was publicly known to be far from extravagant with her spending, with the late monarch keen to cut back costs wherever possible.

While you may expect a fire to be roaring, or at least a sophisticated central heating system to be firing, in 2020 a tiny £30 two-bar electric heater was spotted helping to heat the high-ceilinged Audience Room.

And it's not the only thrifty part of the Queen's Buckingham Palace home. Palace insiders previously revealed the Queen's insistence on cutting the budget whenever possible.

According to the Express, light bulbs more than 40 watts were banned, and staff were taught to be vigilant about turning off the lights whenever necessary. Meanwhile old newspapers were shredded for use as horses' bedding in the Queen's beloved stables.

Items were also often reused - string from parcels is saved to be tied again while frayed sheets and dusters are darned and fixed.

'After Christmas, Elizabeth would collect up the wrapping paper and ribbons and would smooth them out to be saved,' 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 in 2012 told how she once sent back a lemon that had kbeen served as a garnish, saying that it could be used again by the kitchen.

In the bathrooms, 'hippos' – water displacement devices – were placed in toilet cisterns to cut down on the water used for each flush.

Damage to walls at Balmoral is fixed and patched up with wallpaper bought by Queen Victoria over a century ago.

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.

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. 

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, Anne wore the same  jacket and skirt she donned 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 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 back 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.

However, William has also received some criticism for his financial choices, particularly his reluctance to share his tax contributions in the past.

In May, William, 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 £7.76 million to the taxman and a further £8.34 million 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.

Charles' 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 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 £12.9 million in 2024/25 to HMRC and a further £11.7 million 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 staff 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.