Official gifts to royal family include Rolls-Royce from King of Bahrain

A Rolls-Royce, a Blue Peter badge and a feather crown were among the official gifts given to the King during the first year of his reign.

Buckingham Palace has released records listing the official gifts received by members of the royal family from 2020 to 2023.

The lists outline the official gifts presented to Queen Elizabeth II, the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.

The gifts – which range from a set of toiletries, to bottles of alcohol and pairs of cufflinks – came from heads of state, their patronages and other organisations with which they have a relationship, plus also when out at official engagements.

In May 2023, the King received a Coronation gift in the form of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II motor car from the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Also in May, Charles received a feather crown, two beaded chest pieces and two carved staffs from Amazonian Indigenous leaders Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai and Atossa Soltani.

A month earlier, the King received two gold Blue Peter badges, one each for himself and Camilla, from Blue Peter presenters during a “Pre-Eurovision” visit to Liverpool.

As a Coronation gift, the then-president of the United States, Joe Biden, and then-first lady, Dr Jill Biden, gave Charles a leather folder containing printed letters between Queen Elizabeth II and President Eisenhower inviting him to the United Kingdom, with a photograph of the visit.

In 2023, Charles also received a tea set from Smythson of Bond Street and a cutlery set from the Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines, Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr.

Meanwhile, in 2021 the late Queen received a set of gifts connected to one of the nation’s favourite television programmes.

During a visit to the Coronation Street set in Greater Manchester, the Queen received a cobble from the original set in a presentation case, two gin glasses with Manchester skyline silhouette design and a selection of themed gifts including a book entitled 60 Years Of Coronation Street and a bottle of Coronation Street gin.

She also received gifts from President Biden and the First Lady – an engraved specially commissioned Tiffany sterling silver box and a floral brooch – during tea at Windsor Castle.

In 2022, the year of her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen received a Cedar of Lebanon tree from Pope Francis as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.

Back in 2020, the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge each received a toiletries set from the president of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins during an official visit to the Republic of Ireland.

During that trip, they also each received GAA club jerseys as well as a bottle of whiskey and two whiskey tumblers.

In 2022, the couple, by now known as the Prince and Princess of Wales, received snorkelling gear during a royal tour of the Caribbean.

They each received a snorkel set, a wetsuit, a pair of diving fins and a swimming cap.

William and Kate were accused of harking back to colonial days during the visit to Jamaica after the pair shook hands with crowds behind a wire mesh fence and rode in the back of a Land Rover, just like the Queen did 60 years ago.

Demonstrators accused them of benefiting from the “blood, tears and sweat” of slaves, while in the Bahamas they were urged to acknowledge the British economy was “built on the backs” of past Bahamians and to pay reparations.

Meanwhile, William and Kate’s children also received gifts with a record of a soft toy camel received by William in Dubai in 2022 on behalf of Prince Louis.

Official gifts can be worn and used, but are not considered the royals’ personal property. The royals do not pay tax on them.

They can eat any food they are given and perishable official gifts with a value less than £150 can be given to charity or staff.

Gifts cannot be sold or exchanged and eventually become part of the Royal Collection, which is held in trust for successors and the nation.

The rules on official presents were tightened following the Peat Inquiry in 2003 into the sale of royal gifts and the running of St James’s Palace.

Charles’ then-most trusted aide, his former valet Michael Fawcett, faced allegations of selling unwanted royal gifts and pocketing a percentage of the proceeds, but was cleared by an internal inquiry of any financial misconduct.

The Peat Inquiry, headed by Charles’s then-private secretary Sir Michael Peat, found Mr Fawcett did “infringe internal rules relating to gifts from suppliers”, but could not be severely criticised because the rules were not enforced and he made no secret of such gifts.

Yet the report painted a picture of Mr Fawcett as an alleged bully who enjoyed lavish perks and privileges and accepted valuable gifts from outsiders.

Published: 30/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub