The King’s state visit to the US has been a triumph. His Majesty managed to put most of Capitol Hill into a state of giddy excitement, helped along by cucumber sandwiches and lashings of English sparkling wine at the British ambassador’s residence.
His historic address to the joint meeting of Congress has won many deserved plaudits for its weaving of serious politics and very good gags. His Majesty did more in 37 minutes to burnish our national reputation for humour than a lifetime of Have I Got News for You.
It was probably the best gift from a British monarch to a US President since the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk was given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria
His charm offensive with Trump and his after-dinner remarks at the White House were as important. And it was here that the King unveiled his masterstroke.
Fresh from speaking of Aukus – the security partnership and submarine deal between the UK, US and Australia – the King noted a previous submarine alliance during the second world war. He drew attention to a British T-class sub, commissioned in 1944, and attached to the 4th squadron in Australia, that once played a ‘critical role’ in the war in the Pacific, sinking several Japanese vessels. The ship’s name? HMS Trump.
And so, as a personal gift to the 47th President, and a ‘testimony to our nation’s shared history and shining future’, the King presented the original bell which hung ‘on the conning tower of your valiant namesake’. King Charles then declared with a smile that ‘should you ever need to get hold of us, well just give us a ring.’
It was probably the best gift from a British monarch to a US President since the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk was given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria. The desk also came from a naval vessel: in that case, the oak timbers of the arctic explorer, HMS Resolute. Indeed, the King also gifted Trump on this visit a framed facsimile of the 1879 design plans for the famous desk. Only the monarchy has the institutional memory – and frankly the meticulous archiving – to pull off this sort of historical feat.
The Trump bell worked so well because it managed to simultaneously recall our shared war struggle and our current foreign policy priority: keeping the US bound into Aukus. It also of course played to Trump’s vanity – though in truth there are few of us that would not be chuffed with a piece of military memorabilia stamped with our name. The Foreign Office official despatched to procure it must have breathed a sigh of relief to find it polished gold in colour. One can well imagine the bling-loving President finding a place for it on the mantle of the Oval Office.
This was the most perfectly judged example of diplomatic gift giving I’ve seen after a decade in the Foreign Office. And it is a timely reminder of the power a good gift can have and the need to take this stuff seriously. The reality is that outside of Royal visits, we generally do this stuff rather badly. A couple of Foreign Secretaries previously enlisted my help to raise our gift game, after being embarrassed at the splendour of what they had received compared to the tat we were offering up. Gifting to heads of state is an opportunity to give international publicity to British craftsmanship and heritage national brands. I may have now left government, but I have not given up on the idea of commissioning a new, bespoke diplomatic wicker hamper from Fortnum & Mason filled with Scotch, marmalade, Earl Grey (named, of course, after a former Foreign Secretary) and some of the world’s best biscuits.
The bell is the latest in a long line of gifts given and received by the Royals. For his Coronation the King received from the King of Bahrain a Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II which has now joined the state fleet. More modest, but no doubt riveting for our nature-loving monarch, was the wooden insect hotel the King received in 2022 on his state visit to Germany. Live creatures are a recurring theme: on her 1968 state visit, Queen Elizabeth II received two jaguars (not the cars). She also received an African forest elephant named Jumbo from the President of Cameroon. London Zoo has had many the unexpected call from a Palace private secretary over the years.
The King has always had his critics, and there has always been some worries that he would not be able to resist entering into the political fray rather than elevating himself above it. But this US visit should have done much to reassure the doubters. His deftness has been genuinely impressive and shown once again what a boon our monarchy is in enhancing our diplomatic clout abroad. He has charmed Trump whilst standing up for our country, the Realms and the government’s foreign policy priorities. More importantly, he has reminded both sides of the eternal verities of the UK-US relationship. He has proven himself a gracious guest in America, and provided us all with a useful reminder – always bring a gift.
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