By
Rebecca English
Last updated at 1:16 AM on 11th January 2012
Hollywood favourite: Kate and William receiving their Harry Winston jewels in July
In official documents, the gift given to the Duchess of Cambridge was recorded simply as a ‘brooch’.
In reality, the specially commissioned piece by Hollywood jeweller Harry Winston was a lavish design made from platinum, studded with 302 diamonds and crafted into the shape of a polar bear.
Clarence House has been accused of hiding the true value of gifts given to Kate during the course of her public duties by releasing only the most basic details.
Listings of the items received by Kate, as well as her husband William, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, contain only very modest descriptions.
During Kate and William’s inaugural
foreign tour of Canada and the U.S. in July, the Duchess received more
than 150 official gifts on behalf of the Queen from dignitaries and
members of the public.
Kate
and William were given a gift each by the premier of the Northwest
Territories while visiting the town of Yellowknife.
These trinkets were
modestly listed by the couple’s office as ‘brooch’ and ‘pair of
cufflinks’.
But both
were made from platinum, studded with diamond pave and specially
commissioned from world-renowned jeweller Harry Winston, a favourite of
A-list stars.
The platinum and diamond pave cufflinks in the shape of the Northwest Territories polar bear logo
gifted to Prince William
Kate and William were given a gift each by the premier of the Northwest Territories while visiting the town of Yellowknife. The pair are pictured above while arriving for an official welcome ceremony at the Somba K’e Civic Plaza in the Canadian town
The
brand lends £130million of jewellery to Hollywood celebrities every year
to be worn on red carpets around the globe. So prestigious is the
brand among the wealthy that it is namechecked by Marilyn Monroe in the
song Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.
In 1999, Gwyneth Paltrow wore a custom-designed necklace when she accepted her Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare In Love. And even Elizabeth Taylor, known for her collection of fabulous jewellery, borrowed and wore its jewels.
In fact, Harry Winston cut the
magnificent 69-carat Taylor-Burton diamond, so called because it was
given to Miss Taylor by Richard Burton as a token of his love in the
late 1960s.
According
to the firm’s chairman, Robert Gannicott, it took their best craftsmen
250 hours to make the royal gifts. ‘These convey the wealth of respect
and affection that we hold for the royal couple,’ premier Floyd K.
Roland said as he handed over the gems.
The items together included a total
of 692 diamonds – 302 for Kate and 390 for William. However, Clarence
House insisted that it was ‘inappropriate to highlight whether a gift
was valuable’.
It
said: ‘It is not appropriate for us to estimate a financial value on
these gifts or specify details which indicate a gift is especially
valuable relative to others. It would be discourteous to do so, because
it is the gift itself which is important, not its value.’
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wear their complimentary Stetson hats as they view the start of the Calgary Stampede parade in western Canada last July
The stance makes it impossible, however, to ascertain whether the couple returned from their first official tour on behalf of the Queen with any gifts of high value from persons of interest.
According to the list, released yesterday, other items received by Kate from unnamed sources included at least two necklaces, several pairs of earrings, a ‘wooden heart box with charm bracelet and a dragonfly brooch.
Smaller items, such as two hand-knitted woollen scarves, a pair of cowboy boots and two decorated salad servers, are also listed.
But the list does not include any of her wedding presents, many of which were lavish. These included the diamond and ruby necklace from an unnamed admirer which she wore at a recent military awards ceremony at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The Duchess of Cornwall received what is listed only as a ‘bracelet’ from the Royal Family of Morocco during her visit there in April last year, while Charles was given ‘a fountain pen’.
Last week the Mail revealed that the Countess of Wessex had accepted jewels from the controversial ruling family of Bahrain on a visit last month.
The principle governing gifts is that no item should be accepted which would, or might appear to, place them ‘under any obligation to the donor’.
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Gifts given to politicians, heads of state and other dignitaries are to be listed and reported because of transparency purposes. It is not the gift itself but that fact that it is given. Gifts may be interpreted in many ways by different people. Gifts may be seen as buying favour or influence in important circles. The accurate listing is for transparency and to ensure that influence is not being bought.
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The white cowboy hat is is symbolic of Calgary’s western heritage. The Royal couple also received a custom pair of cowboy boots each from Calgary’s Alberta Boots….one of Canada’s premiere boot manufacturers.
We all loved the Royal couple…Buck and I blew kiss to Kate as well…at least mine was for Kate.
Cowboy Up you Royals you!
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The white Cowboy Hat is the symbol of Calgary representing our western heritage…also the Royal couple received a pair of custom Cowboy Boots made by Alberta Boots of Calgary..a premiere Canadian boot maker.
We all loved them both. Buck and I each blew a kiss to Kate…at least I know mine was for Kate.
Cowboy Up you Royals you!
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This is some lazy civil servants interpretation of what was received. They will on another record detail the items received for insurance purposes so will list individual diamonds, the fitting etc – this is another non story.
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Have you ever seen that hero with shut mouth? Maybe something wrong with him. It’s strange to keep whole day, months, years open mouth. It’s simply ridiculous!
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I’m pretty neutral when it comes to the royal family but, seriously? It IS a brooch (and a pair of cufflinks), what were they supposed to list them as?
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“It would be discourteous to do so, because it is the gift itself which is important, not its value.”———- The epitome of why. Thank goodness there are still manners. I think it’s wonderful that they’re treating all the gifts as valued and appreciated. Not some horrible, “oooh chuck the wood box, I’ve got some loooovely diamonds ‘ere!”
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Very pretty and lovely to own. Very original and symbolizes Canada, sending them a toaster or a set of hand towels simply would not have had the same impact.
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I could not give a damn what other countries decide to give – it costs the UK tax payer nothing. Rebecca English’s reporting it getting to akin to that rag The Sun
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They are not Stetson Stetson are from Texas white hats are made in Calgary. Get your facts corrects
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