U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth down
to last $1.6 million in
reserves after royal overspend Royal family reportedly facing money
troubles A new report claims that Queen Elizabeth is royally
strapped, and that the household has spent more
money than its allowance. A number of palaces are
said to be in disrepair. NBC's Michelle Kosinski
reports. By Alexander Smith, NBC INews contributor LONDON --  Britain's Queen Elizabeth has just £1
million ($1.6 million) left in financial reserves after the
royal household overspent on its budget last year,
according to a report by British lawmakers released
Tuesday. The royal household had to dip into its reserves after
overspending £2.3 million ($3.8 million) on the £31
million ($51.4 million) it was given by the taxpayer in
2012/13. The report by the Public Accounts Committee said the amount was "historically low" and that it
was "concerned that the household has reduced its
balances to such an extent that it could be unable to
cover its expenditure on any unforeseen events." This paltry figure of £1 million is in contrast to 2001
when the royal household had £35 million ($58 million)
in its reserves. The royals spend the money on costs
such as staff wages, maintaining their palaces and
travel. Slideshow: Life of a queen View images from the extraordinary life of
Queen Elizabeth II. Launch slideshow A restructuring in 2012 of the way the royals receive
public money allowed the royal family's finances to
come under scrutiny from lawmakers for the first time. "The household needs to get better at planning and
managing its budgets for the longer term -- and the
Treasury should be more actively involved in reviewing
what the household is doing," said Margaret Hodge,
the member of parliament who chairs the Public
Accounts Committee. The report also criticized the royals' "complacency" in
allowing some 39 percent of royal buildings and land
to slip into a state of disrepair. It said the 60-year-old
heating system in Buckingham Palace alone will cost
between £500,000 and £1 million to replace. "The Household must get a much firmer grip on how it
plans to address its maintenance backlog," Hodge
said. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson described
maintaining  the royal family's estate, such as the
recent renewal of a roof over at Windsor Castle and the
removal of asbestos from Buckingham Palace, as a
"priority."