Dec 19, 2008, 10:00 GMT
Britain's Prince Andrew has joked he sits in darkness in the evening as palace officials are so keen to save energy.
It was recently reported Queen Elizabeth - Andrew's mother - had instructed staff at her palaces to ensure lights are always turned off when people leave rooms, and Andrew has confirmed there is an energy-saving drive at the residences.
At a recent drinks party, Britain's The Daily Mail newspaper reports Andrew joked: "You should try living at one of the palaces. The administration of lighting is ridiculous. Every time you turn around, there is someone turning a light off. By nine o'clock we've been plunged into near darkness."
This is not the first embarrassing admission the prince has made recently - earlier this week he admitted the royal family are banned from playing property board game Monopoly as they argue too much.
He said: "We're not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious."
The queen's decision to turn off all non-used lights at her palaces is the latest in a list of money-saving measures she has introduced in order to combat the effect of the global financial crisis upon the royal family.
She has reportedly asked staff to make meals from leftovers rather than simply throwing them away, and has started growing her own vegetable and flowers to save money. She also requested a formal evening gown be made from material given to her more than 20 years ago.
Earlier this week she presented all her staff with a set of drinks coasters as their Christmas present rather than allowing them to pick their own gift, with the size of it determined by their length of service, as she usually would.
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