Duke and Duchess of Sussex Are Returning $9 Million Worth of Wedding Gifts
When my wife and I married, we were thrilled to receive some All-Clad cookware as a wedding gift.
Notoriously tough and attractive in their simple design, these pots and pans would certainly last us for years — and they have.
One man’s treasure is another man’s trifle, of course. And after reading reports of the gifts received at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials, I can’ t help but think how humble my precious pots truly are.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had requested that well-wishers donate to a list of charities the couple had compiled. Some guests took them up on the suggestion.
Donald Trump gave to one of the charities, as did Justin Trudeau. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden donated to an organization that aids children of prisoners.
Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull supported the Invictus Games charity, while the Land Down Under’s Taronga Zoo named a pair of koalas after them.
However, others decided to give gifts outright, and that led to trouble.
The Royals find their everyday lives governed by a mass of rules and protocol, some stated explicitly and others merely implied. When it comes to receiving wedding gifts, though, the standards are pretty plain.
It may surprise you to learn that The Crown has an official gift policy. It states, “Members of The Royal Family may accept gifts from government bodies, trade associations, guilds, civic bodies, the armed services, charities or similar organizations in the UK, especially those with which the Member of The Royal Family has an established connection, in the course of official engagements or to mark special personal occasions.
“Gifts offered by private individuals living in the UK not personally known to the Member of The Royal Family should be refused where there are concerns about the propriety or motives of the donor or the gift itself.” That meant that any gifts sent to Harry and Meghan from people with whom they weren’t individually acquainted had to go back.
And go back they did in no small number. The newly married couple has returned $9.3 million worth of gifts to their senders.
Yet not every gift had to go back. The prince and princess of Lesotho, a small nation in southern Africa, sent Harry and Meghan a pair of Wonderbags.
Harry and the prince had helped distribute these portable slow cookers to ordinary Africans through the charity Sentebale. The Wonderbags help pull people out of poverty by reducing the need to search for fuel to cook their meals.
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