A brooch, teaspoons and more: The King, Queen and the Trumps trade gifts

WASHINGTON – In 1880, as a gesture of goodwill between Britain and the United States, Queen Victoria gave President Rutherford B. Hayes a desk crafted from the salvaged timbers of the HMS Resolute, a British ship.

The Resolute Desk, weighing in at 1,300 pounds, is still used in the Oval Office.

One hundred and forty-six years later, King Charles III, visiting the White House on April 28, presented President Donald Trump with a framed, high-quality reproduction of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk, the originals of which are held by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.

Mr Trump, in return, bestowed the king a framed copy of a 1785 letter written by former President John Adams, who was then the US ambassador to Britain, to John Jay, who was the American secretary of foreign affairs.

In the letter, Adams wrote of meeting King George III and described the strong emotions that charged the encounter between the ruler and his former subject, during which they consented to amicable relations between the two countries.

Buckingham Palace announced the gifts, according to a White House pool report.

Queen Camilla and Mrs Melania Trump also exchanged gifts.

Mrs Trump received a brooch made by British jewelry designer Fiona Rae, who has received a royal warrant from Charles, a kind of recognition for supplying the royal household with goods and services.

Mr Trump gave the queen a set of six silver teaspoons from Tiffany & Co., the renowned jewelry store, each engraved with the queen’s royal monogram.

For the store’s 150th anniversary in 1987, similar teaspoons were commissioned for use in Blair House – the official presidential guest quarters across the street from the White House – to use while hosting heads of state and dignitaries.

Mr Trump also gave the queen a jar of honey made by White House bees, some of which live in a hive that was crafted to look like the presidential residence and workplace, sited on the South Lawn of the real White House.

In September 2025, when the two couples met at Windsor Castle, the king and queen gave Mr Donald Trump a leather-bound volume celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Union Jack that flew over Buckingham Palace on the day of Mr Trump’s second inauguration.

Mrs Trump received a silver and enamel bowl, and a handbag.

Mr Trump gave the king a replica of one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s swords, symbolising the alliance of the United States and Britain during World War II.

And he gave the queen a Tiffany diamond and ruby flower brooch. NYTIMES