British Queen said to be shedding pounds

Queen Elizabeth II (pictured) is shedding pounds by living more frugally -- if living on 7.9 million pounds ($12.3 million) can be called frugal.

At any rate she is cutting spending and putting off palace repairs as royal finances are squeezed by Britain's budget crisis.

The 84-year-old queen is in Toronto, Canada for a visit.

The electric blackout in Toronto during her visit is really not what the Queen had in mind for cutting down her use of resources.

The power outage was caused by an explosion at a Toronto power facility.

A report at the first link below says the total public cost of supporting the monarchy was 38.2 million pounds ($57.8 million) for last year.

In an attempt to minimize the cost to support the monarchy, the report says it is the equivalent to 62 pence (94 cents) per person. However, that's only part of the story because it is taxpaying Brits who actually support the monarchy.

There are millions of Brits who do not pay taxes for one reason or another. Consequently the share per person for those who actually support the Queen is much higher than 62 pence!

The Queen's attempt to economize is here. The Toronto power outage story is here.