Cliff Notes
- Buckingham Palace has disclosed records of official gifts to the Royal Family, including a $443,575 Rolls-Royce for King Charles from the King of Bahrain, meant for official use only.
- Other notable gifts received by the King during his coronation month include items from Indigenous leaders and a leather folder from Joe Biden containing historic correspondence between Queen Elizabeth II and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- Official gifts are not personal property; they are tax-exempt and eventually added to the Royal Collection for future successors and the nation.
Buckingham Palace reveals the gifts given to the Royal Family | Royal Family News
Buckingham Palace has released records of official gifts given to the Royal Family – including a Rolls-Royce for King Charles.
According to the records, which cover official gifts to most members of the Royal Family from 2020 to 2023, the monarch was given the luxury vehicle by the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II is not for personal use; instead, it’s for official purposes including state occasions.
Given to the King in May 2023, it retails for $443,575 – or around £329,545.
Other gifts for the King during the month of his coronation include a feather crown, two beaded chest pieces and two carved staffs from Amazonian Indigenous leaders Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai and Atossa Soltani.
Former US president Joe Biden and then-first lady Jill Biden also gifted Charles a leather folder containing printed letters between Queen Elizabeth II and former president Dwight D Eisenhower.
And during an audience with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy in February, the King was presented with a framed mosaic, a scrolled document about St Sophia Cathedral, and a signed Ukrainian ship’s flag.
During a visit to the Coronation Street set in Greater Manchester in 2021, she 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.
In 2020, Prince William and Catherine, then the Duchess of Cambridge, were both gifted a toiletries set from the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, and his wife Sabina Higgins.
Official gifts to the Royal Family can be worn and used, but are not considered the royals’ personal property. The royals also do not pay tax on them.
They can eat any food they are given, and perishable official gifts with a value under £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.
How much does the King get to keep!
