One might be mistaken into thinking that gifts to royalty would be some breathtaking pieces of jewellery or stunning pieces of art. However, the official gift list released by the Palace recently instead shows more traditional gifts and some which are more odd, including salt and a tooth.
Don’t worry, it isn’t a real tooth. Instead, it is a tooth from a tunnel boring machine called Elizabeth, sent by Crossrail.
As well as the tooth, she received a bag of salt from the people of the British Virgin Islands which revive a tradition of giving the monarch a bag of salt as a tax on the production of minerals on Salt Island.
It should come as no surprise that Her Majesty received the most amount of gifts with the momentous occasion of her 9oth Birthday in 2016.
Coming up second on the list were Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who gathered more than 160 gifts between the two on their official visit to Canada including things such as Legos, toy cars, cuddly otters and mittens.
Other gifts included a horse, two stags and an ostrich egg. As well as four dog jackets for The Queen’s corgis and dorgis sent by the Royal Borough of Windsor with the coat of arms of the borough embroidered on the back.
The Queen, perhaps not an ostrich fan, is most definitely an avid horse rider, so the horse from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sure to be one of her most favourite gifts. The Queen named the horse Sir John, in honour of the first Canadian prime minister, Sir John MacDonald, who founded the Mounties. It is believed Sir John the horse may play a role in the Trooping of the Colour as the mount of a member of the Royal Family.
Stepping away from the unusual and live gifts, there were more traditional gifts. It included things such as champagne, chocolates, plaques, commemorative coins, prints and a gift of Salmon and whisky from the Northern Ireland Food & Drinks Industry.
It is important to note, however, that all these unusual and wonderful gifts are not the royals’ property. Instead, they become part of the Royal Collection held for the nation. Of course, any wearable gift can be worn, and food can be eaten; foods with a value of less than £150 can also be given to charity or staff.
From the island of Ireland? It’s called whiskEy (with an E)