The annual British Royal Family official gift lists, published separately each January by Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, are usually a source of interest and, sometimes, controversy (or contrived controversy). Recipients are expected to use good judgment on whether they accept a gift; they cannot accept anything that could in any way be seen as having strings attached, for example.
Gifts given on official visits are accepted on behalf of the Queen, and may be used by the recipient for their lifetime. Food usually gets cooked up in the kitchen of a stately home, while jewelry may be worn, then further loaned to descendants or passed to the Royal Collection. Gifts come from governments and rulers, but also from individuals on walkabouts, which can lead to some fairly unusual choices. (Story continues below.)
In the past, unwanted gifts were simply discreetly sold off or re-gifted; however, once that came to light, there was a policy reform and gifts had to be kept, used or stored. Beyond that, the goodies pass into the Royal Collection, where they're occasionally trotted out for exhibitions and on state visits. Where they make money, i.e. through paid exhibitions, under the upcoming rules of the Sovereign Support Grant, a percentage goes towards paying for official duties and residences.
Previous article:
Next article:
Get British Royal Family news by subscribing to this column or using the RSS feed. Linda Gentile is the British Royal Family Examiner and you can also follow on Twitter and Facebook. And, for yet more British life and culture, check out Linda's British Life column.
Comments