The policy on gifts to the Royal Family distinguishes between those received in connection with a member’s official role or on an official occasion and those received from people members of the family know personally. King Charles, Camilla and the South African president look at a chess set, a gift from Nelson Mandela to Prince Philip in 1996. [Dan Kitwood/Pool via A.P.]
The royal family appears to have received two stamp collections as official gifts, incorporating them into the highly valuable private stamp collection inherited by King Charles from his mother.
According to the British Guardian, it is a collection of rare Canadian stamps, as well as a series of stamps from Laos. These stamps were solemnly given to the royal family as a gift on behalf of the two states. However, after some time the family incorporated them into the Royal Philatelic Collection, a collection worth at least £100 million. This appropriation raises questions about whether the royal family is breaking guidelines that prohibit government gifts from being treated as private property.
Canadian stamps were issued by the Government of Canada in 1939 – before the gift policy was introduced in the mid-1990s. The rules do not say whether it should be applied retroactively.
On the other hand, the Laos stamp set was given in June 2016 as a gift for Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, received by the UK ambassador to Laos, sent to London and from there incorporated into the palace collection.
A spokesman for Buckingham said: “The Royal Philatelic Collection is a private property and therefore we will not be commenting on any of the issues you raise.”
The occasion was the appropriation of stamps from Canada and Laos and the sale of horses donated by the Sheikh of Dubai.
Last week the same newspaper revealed that King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II appear to have made almost £2 million from the sale of horses, which were gifts from a Dubai sheikh, a Muslim religious leader and a member of the royal family. Saudi Arabian family. The palace said it considered the horses “personal” gifts. However, he made no such claim in respect of the stamps of Canada and Laos.
Obsession by George V
It’s no surprise that the royal family has such an impressive collection of stamps, given George V’s obsession with philately. His official biographer, Harold Nicholson, noted that, for 17 years, the king “did nothing but kill animals and stamp stamps”.
The King’s stamp collection consists of 328 albums collected by King George V and a further 30 albums collected by George VI, and more recently by Queen Elizabeth II.
The scale of the collection suggests that George V’s wish came true when he wrote in a February 1908 letter to his philatelic adviser: “I wish to have the best collection and not one of the best collections in England.”
The gifts policy to the Royal Family distinguishes between ‘official gifts’, which are generally those gifts received in connection with a member of the family’s official role or during an official occasion, and ‘personal gifts’, which are taken from people the members of the royal family know personally and who are not required to declare publicly. The case of the two collections seems to be in a “gray zone” between the two cases.
Harry will attend the coronation without Meghan
As recently announced, Prince Harry will eventually attend the coronation of King Charles, but his wife, Meghan Markle, will not.
There has long been heated debate over whether the couple will make a joint appearance at the coronation ceremony. Finally, Prince Harry will attend himself. The prince will join more than 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey on May 6, where the grand ceremony will take place.
This will also be the first time that Harry will appear with the royal family since the publication of his memoirs, which caused tremors in palace circles and were released in Greek under the title “Reserva”.
Prince Harry’s book vividly reveals the intensity of his disagreements with other members of the royal family, and he has since spoken often about feeling “different” from the rest of his family. Meghan’s decision to decline the invitation is sure to be interpreted by many as part of these ongoing and unresolved family tensions.
Harry’s book – and earlier a Netflix series – highlights the prince’s stress over his negative portrayal in the media, which has at times criticized his attitude towards his wife. He has also claimed that he feels he is not getting support from his family.
Amidst these events, many believed that Harry would choose not to attend his father’s coronation. Finally, he confirmed that he would be at the abbey so that Charles would be crowned with his two sons by his side.
The coronation day also coincides with Harry and Meghan’s son’s fourth birthday. Young Prince Archie will remain in the United States with his mother.
The announcement issued by the couple follows the same lines as that of the palace: “The Duke of Sussex will attend the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 6 May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilybet.”
Neither the couple’s spokeswoman nor the Palace have commented on the decision, but social media has been on fire. Meghan Markle’s supporters have deified her, saying she is standing up for herself, while critics have accused her of “snobbing” her blue-blooded in-laws.
The coronation ceremony, which will be attended by world leaders, public figures and members of the wider royal family, will be followed by a weekend of concerts and public events. “Royal wife” Camilla’s grandchildren will have a special role at the coronation and palace representatives have said that after this event it will now be “an appropriate time” for her to start officially being called “Queen Camilla”, while a special role is expected to be and William, Prince of Wales.
As for Harry, it is not known how long he will stay in the UK and to what extent he will attend the events. Harry also made a surprise appearance in London in March, where he appeared in court in a case against the Associated Newspapers group, which involved some copyright infringement. Harry is said to have met neither his brother William nor King Charles during this visit.