King Felipe of Spain approves reduced royal salaries

KING Felipe VI of Spain will earn €58,000 less this year than his father, former King Juan Carlos, was paid as head of State.

Official accounts released by La Zarzuela palace, the first King Felipe has approved since ascending the throne, have been made public and include a number of changes compared to previous years.

Although the amount assigned to the Royal Household remains the same (€7.7 million), family members will only receive a total of €655,764 between them this year in salaries.

King Felipe will receive €234,204 this year, and Queen Letizia €128,808.

Meanwhile the former King Juan Carlos will earn €187,356 and former Queen Sofia €105,396.

Neither of the royal princesses will receive salaries, and the king’s sisters, infantas Elena and Cristina, will not be paid either as they no longer form part of the Royal Household.

A Zarzuela palace spokesman explained that King Felipe had studied the salaries of other European heads of state, both presidents and royal family representatives, to reach the figures, and his father’s salary was set in accordance with those received by other former kings who had abdicated.

The King’s Household declared that King Felipe wanted to reduce expenses to leave more money available to modernise the institution.