The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned home from their tour of South-East Asia with a bumper haul of gifts, it was revealed today.
Their nine-day visit to Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu saw them receive 127 presents, including six pairs of shoes, two handbags and a dress for Kate from the Queen of Malaysia, as well as a jar of chilli sauce from an unnamed donor.
The items were disclosed by St James’s Palace in its annual register of gifts received on foreign trips.
The couple each received a sarong when they reached the Solomon Islands on their September tour to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
The Hageulu Panpipe Group gave each of them a pair of bamboo flutes. Well-wishers showered the couple with woven baskets, fans and palm floor mats. Prince Harry was similarly treated when he visited the Caribbean and Brazil in March. Jamaican prime minister Portia Simpson Miller gave him a bronze figurine, while the chief of defence staff gave him a “mounted cow horn and tie”.
On the last leg of his jubilee trip in Brazil, Harry received a Beatles CD from the Governor of Rio de Janeiro, a personalised car numberplate that read “HARRY”, four football shirts and six Brazilian rugby shirts — two of which he was told to give to his brother.
The strangest gifts were reserved for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall during their tours last year to Scandinavia in March, Canada in May and Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand in November.
Charles was given a “bio fireplace” by the chairman of Avedore power station in Denmark, a pair of flip-flops in New Zealand and two jars of Tasmanian honey, a decorated emu egg and a pair of baby booties for William and Kate in Australia.
The list made no mention of the baby romper suit emblazoned with “Daddy’s Little co-pilot” handed to William by Samantha Hill during their visit to Cambridge in November. He told her: “I’ll keep that!” A week later, Kate’s pregnancy was announced.
A St James’s Palace spokeswoman said the gifts were registered by Clarence House, and either used or displayed in Clarence House, St James’s Palace and other residences, or kept in storage.
