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King Charles received coronation gifts ranging from a luxury Rolls-Royce to a feather crown and two hand-woven coconut leaf hats, according to an official register.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II, thought to be worth at least £300,000, was given by the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. As an official gift to Charles as head of state, the car will become part of the royal mews to be used on official occasions and not for private use, sources indicated. The Bahraini king also gave Charles a decorative clock.
The feather crown was a present from Amazonian Indigenous leaders, and the traditional South Pacific coconut leaf hats were from the president of the Marshall Islands. There were plenty of trees, too, from tree saplings given by the Swedish royal family to a Tirolean pine tree from the Austrian president.
Other coronation gifts included a table and a model ship from the emir of Kuwait; a decorative pot from the sultan of Brunei; and, from the then US president, Joe Biden, a leather folder containing printed letters between Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D Eisenhower inviting the latter to the UK, with a photograph of the visit.
The late queen received a trio of brooches among other gifts for her platinum jubilee – a white gold, platinum and diamond brooch from the Goldsmiths’ Company, a diamond and platinum brooch from the Freemasons, and a platinum pearl and diamond brooch from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The jewellery will become part of the royal collection and may be worn by other members of the royal family.
Two lamp-posts outside the Houses of Parliament in the form of bronze sculptures of heraldic beasts were presented by both houses for the jubilee. China’s president, Xi Jinping, sent a large cloisonné ornament in the design of a zun, a wine vessel used in ancient Chinese rituals, with motifs and patterns symbolising royalty and good fortune.
The Australian air force in 2021 sent the queen a practical gift of six dog jackets of varying sizes. Joe and Jill Biden, on the occasion of having tea at Windsor Castle, contributed an engraved specially commissioned Tiffany sterling silver box and a floral brooch.
Gifts received by Queen Camilla include lapis lazuli gemstones from Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, and a brooch from the crown prince of Kuwait.
This is the first official gifts register to be published in the king’s reign and dates back to 2020. Normally the list is published on the royal family website annually, but the Covid pandemic, the death of Elizabeth and the coronation led to delays.
Gifts cannot be sold or exchanged and eventually become part of the royal collection, which is held in trust for successors and the nation.
