The Queen’s well-documented passion for horses has led to numerous official gifts of an equestrian nature, with bronzes, sculptor’s maquettes and paintings regularly featuring over the years.
Slovenia has come up with a new twist on this tried-and-tested theme: a 24-carat gold-plated horse comb, presented by its president, Borut Pahor. The comb was among gifts received by the royal family last year, according to a list published on Thursday.
Some of the other gifts have a nostalgic touch, including a model of a Boeing Stratocruiser, the aircraft on which the future queen and her husband, Prince Philip, took their first transatlantic flight together on an official visit to Canada in 1951. The model was presented by British Airways.
Another gift, a small mulberry bowl made from a tree planted by the Queen’s grandmother Queen Mary in 1921, was given by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridgeshire.
She also received a popup book marking the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, given by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The book was one of many she received, covering a diverse range of subjects.
While a painting of Bahamas famous swimming pigs may not end up gracing palace walls, the picture, which in line with other official gifts cannot be sold or exchanged, will become part of the Royal Collection.
On a practical note, Le Régiment de la Chaudière, in Canada, sent a boxed bottle of gin and two glasses, which could prove invaluable during lockdown at Windsor Castle.
A corn doll and replica of the Two Row Wampum treaty, the 17th-century beaded belt representing the 1613 peace accord between the Onkwehonwe people of Turtle Island and European immigrants, was sent by the Royal Chapel of the Mohawks in Canada.
Donald Trump showed his inestimable respect for the monarch – whom he has hailed “a great and wonderful women” – during his state visit last June. Announced at the time, he presented her with a custom hand-tooled leather chest featuring a 24-carat gold seal of the president of the United States; a jewellery box made from wood from a fallen magnolia tree in the White House grounds; and a sterling silver and red silk poppy from Tiffany. For Prince Philip there was an Air Force One personalised jacket and a signed first edition autobiography by Gen James Doolittle, who led the Tokyo air raid in 1942.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie, did well too, receiving a menagerie of soft toys from wellwishers on the couple’s visit to southern Africa, their final official tour as working royals.
The archbishop Desmond Tutu to whom Archie was introduced, gave two children’s books he had written and also presented his parents with beaded bracelets.
While in Germany, Prince Charles collected further presents for his youngest grandchild, including brown leather lederhosen in Bavaria. The German president, Frank -Walter Steinmeier, sent a hat, blanket and teddy bear to Archie via Charles.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Pakistan tour yielded several chitral hats, numerous shawls and other assorted traditional items of clothing, along with cricket bats for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. William returned from Kuwait and Oman with, among other items, two watches, two bisht (traditional robes), a ceremonial axe and several bottles of perfume.
More unusual presents to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, included two shell money necklaces from the governor general of the Solomon Islands. Charles also received a wooden hatu, or war club, from its parliament, adding to the tewhatewha (a Maori weapon) he received in New Zealand. Meanwhile Camilla, who champions the fight against sexual and domestic violence, was given a “sample sexual assault evidence-gathering kit” by one individual during a visit to Germany.
Princess Anne, who recently cautioned the younger generation of royals not to “reinvent the wheel” in seeking to change the family’s tested approach to royal philanthropy, was rewarded for her efforts last year with numerous books on wide-ranging subjects. These included Restoration Rewarded: a Celebration of Railway Architecture by Robin Leleux and A Study of Navigation and Traffic on the Upper Thames in the 18th Century by Emperor Naruhito of Japan.
