Thursday, January 16, 2014

Gnome among gifts to Royal Family

Royal Family receive gnome among official gifts in 2013

The Queen at the official opening of the BBC's New Broadcasting House The Queen was given a picture of Radio Times covers by the BBC

A gnome, a photograph of the Royal Family set on a decorative ostrich egg, and golf clubs were among gifts received by the Royal Family in 2013.

The Queen received more than 70 presents from foreign dignitaries, charities and private individuals.

A member of the Sri Lankan parliament presented a portrait of the Queen burned on to a tree trunk.

Regulations state that official gifts are not the property of the royal recipient but may be used by them.

The rules surrounding gifts to the Royal Family call for extravagant gifts to be "discouraged" and can be refused if they are inappropriate or "appear to place the member of the Royal Family under any obligation to the donor".

Official gifts are defined as being any object received on an official engagement, and only items with a value of less than £150, given by a person or organisation privately known by the royal, can be considered a personal present.

Gingerbread cathedral

Princess Anne received some unusual-sounding official gifts, including a plastic stand-up angel, a garden gnome and a book titled Your Arms Remind Me of Pork Luncheon Meat.

Gifts to the Duke of York took a culinary theme, with a chocolate hamper, Turkish sweets, champagne, tea, a gingerbread cathedral, a box of mangoes, macaroons and a chocolate bear presented to him.

Recipients of such perishable items who choose or are unable to consume them themselves are instructed by the official gift rules to pass them on to charities to avoid waste.

Ties were a popular present for the male royals - with the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Kent all receiving additions to their wardrobes.

Prince Charles receives a carved elephant Prince Charles celebrated his 65th birthday while in the Indian state of Kerala

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall received their official gifts while on overseas tours to India and Sri Lanka, and the Gulf states.

Prince Charles lists ceremonial necklaces, several chests of teas, a number of decorative elephants, Arabic coffee sets and bottle of perfume as items received on the trips.

Artillery shell

Apart from the colourful art and exotic objects the Queen received from foreign dignitaries, she also received some unusual novelty items on engagements in the UK.

On a visit to Baker Street station to mark the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, the Queen was given a commemorative Oyster Card.

And an artillery cartridge that was fired as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations was mounted on a plinth and offered to the Queen on a visit to the barracks of the the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

The Queen also received gifts from the BBC, including framed copies of the Radio Times to commemorate her 60 years on the throne, and a radio alarm clock.

The details of the items and donors were revealed in lists of official gifts to members of the Royal Family released by Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.


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