It’s been four years since King Charles III and the royal family revealed their official gifts.
A situation that is very disturbing since they have promised, on several occasions, that it would do so. But why don’t they do it? Palace officials had blamed the Covid-19 pandemic, the change of reign but also the planning of the coronation of Charles III. A busy schedule which would be the reason for this silence.
But could this silence be caused by other incidents? As the tabloid states, there is also controversy surrounding a cash rewards scandal involving the king’s main charitable foundation which could be the cause. A police investigation was opened before being abandoned without full explanations from Scotland Yard or the Crown Prosecution Service. Will these lists ever be revealed?
Annual gift list: but what is its origin?
Why should the royal family list their annual gifts? As the tabloid recalls, this was introduced after the media criticized the royal household’s attempts to conceal the origin of the sumptuous jewelry given to Queen Camilla.
It was a gift from a member of the Saudi royal family in 2006 and the principal appeared with it during an official visit to the United States the following year. The annual list details all official gifts received by all active members of the royal family. The last one dates back to those of 2019 and it was published in April 2020.
Over the years, this annual list has been the victim of numerous criticisms. In 2012, the King of Bahrain and the Prime Minister of his country offered a suite of jewelry to the wife of Prince Edward. Both faced criticism for human rights violations. The tabloid also explains that many gifts were not always listed. These were hidden since they could cause controversy. As a reminder, official gifts are not the personal property of members of the royal family and are in fact accepted on behalf of the nation.
Royal family: lists that interest the British
There were some years when the gift lists were not complete. In 2011, Kate Middleton and Prince William chose not to reveal the gifts they received for their wedding.
The same goes for the jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2022 since only a few official gifts were noted. For his part, Graham Smith assures that the royal family must reveal this list. “If we ask a lot of politicians, we do the same with the Windsors”, he said. For its part, Buckingham Palace simply stated: “Lists of royal gifts will be published in due course.”
