Gifts Fit for a Queen?
LONDON, Feb. 26, 2007 — -- "Treat your guest as if he were God" so runs an ancient Sanskrit saying.
Well, some people seem to have taken those words to heart, as Camilla Parker-Bowles (the Duchess of Cornwall and wife of Prince Charles), found out during her March 2006 visit to Saudi Arabia.
Today, for the first time, the British public learned about the incredible variety (not to mention the sheer number) of gifts the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall received on their recent overseas tours.
In an apparent bid for transparency in this sensitive area, officials at Clarence House, the royal couple's London residence, released the list of gifts received, not just from the Saudi Arabia trip but from all travel between 2003 and 2006.
During their visit to Saudi Arabia alone, the royal couple received a variety of presents, including a white Arabian stallion and a pair of swords given to the prince by the Saudi royal family.
But none of the other gifts came close to matching the value of three jewelry sets (known as parures) bestowed upon the duchess by her Saudi hosts. Together, the three sets -- one emerald, one ruby and one sapphire -- are estimated to be worth nearly $3 million.
The existence of these three parures came to light when the duchess attended a white-tie gala in Philadelphia earlier this year and wore a glittering ruby and diamond necklace, one of three the Saudis gave her.
A journalist who specializes in covering the royal family spoke to ABCNEWS.com on the condition of anonymity, saying that "there is no controversy as such about gifts, the royal family can accept gifts and often does."
Indeed, gifts from foreign heads of state as well as private individuals form a good part of the royal collection.
Although the gifts are usually cultural in nature --
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