Leaders’ gifts to queen on display
ECLECTIC COLLECTION: INCLUDES SCARF FROM MANDELA
Among presents were a crocodile, elephant and kangaroos.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is putting gifts received from world leaders on display at Buckingham Palace. A remarkable array of over 200 gifts will go on display from today, an intriguing reminder of the international encounters of the 91-year-old sovereign. “One of the most universal aspects of the queen’s meetings with other heads of state, at home and abroad, is the exchange of gifts,” said Sally Goodsir, assistant curator of the Royal Gifts exhibition.
These symbols of friendship often involved an exchange of signed photographs, including one from then US president, John F. Kennedy, in 1961.
Thirty-five years later, the queen welcomed Nelson Mandela for a state visit. The then South African president offered the monarch a silk scarf depicting bushmen hunting a herd of eland in the Eastern Cape.
The queen has also received live animals – a crocodile from The Gambia in 1961, an elephant from Cameroon in 1972, and six Australian kangaroos in 1977.
The gift which made the longest journey to Buckingham Palace was presented by Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to carry out a space walk from the International Space Station. He wore a British flag badge during the space walk in 2016 and gave it to the monarch earlier this year.
Also on display, in a tribute to Princess Diana to mark the 20th anniversary since her death, are some of her personal items. –