Skip to main content
CNN.com /TRANSCRIPTS

CNN TV
EDITIONS





CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Queen's Royal Gifts on Display

Aired August 6, 2002 - 06:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What do you give a person who has nearly everything? Maybe a piece of the Berlin Wall. How about a tribal chieftain outfit? These are just a couple of gifts given to Britain's Queen Elizabeth over the years.

CNN's Richard Quest takes us on a tour of the display.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a collection of the bewildering, the bizarre and the beautiful, a selection of gifts celebrating more than 200 visits around the globe during 50 years on the throne.

There are pictures of the queen in every possible style, even some pictures where you can't even see the queen.

There are the cowboy boots given to Prince Philip during a visit to Texas more than a decade ago.

Then there are the lavish, the gold palm trees given by Middle Eastern leaders. In fact, entire desert scenes decked in gold with jewels. The palms are a gift. The palace has plenty.

JONATHAN MARSDEN, DEPUTY CURATOR, QUEEN'S WORKS OF ART: I think something that really represents the people of the country, some of the island presence we have had, trophies of sea shells and so on, and that really sums up the places she has been to. It serves to remind the queen of where she has been, and the people that she met, the people who presented her with these things.

QUEST: What's not on display here are any of the live animals from race horses to crocodiles that the queen has also received, or the fresh fruit and vegs she has been given. That usually ends up in the palace kitchens.

There is a favorite, though, normally on display at Windsor Castle, this grasshopper-shaped wine cooler given by France in 1972. At least, here you can say, you gave the queen something she didn't already have.

(on camera): All of the gifts that the queen has ever received are being cataloged and then carefully stored in the royal households. After all, it would be a nightmare if they couldn't find one on a particular visit. What would you say if the Thai royal family turned up and said, whatever happened to that elephant we gave you back in 1960? The palace can say, oh, but of course, it's on display.

Richard Quest, CNN, Buckingham Palace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.





 
 
 
 


 Search   

Back to the top