The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall returned from a series of overseas vists last year weighed down with expensive and sometimes impractical gifts, ranging from an Arab stallion to a pistol, Clarence House reveals today.

Taking the biscuit for most unwanted gift is likely to be a whirling dervish hat given to the Prince when he saw a display of the trance- inducing dance during a recent visit to Turkey.

The Prince has been a frequent recipient of funny hats when abroad, and has been advised not to wear them in front of photographers as they tend to make him look silly.

In the current climate of openness, whereby the households of the Queen and the Prince publish detailed annual accounts, the Prince’s office has listed all the official gifts received by the couple during 2007.

According to the rules, official gifts may be worn or used, but are not considered personal property, cannot be sold or exchanged and must eventually go into the Royal Collection, which is held in trust by the Queen for her successors and the nation.

New guidelines were drawn up in 2003 after allegations that members of the Prince’s staff were taking gifts to Bond Street jewellers and London auction houses for sale. What emerges from the list is that Middle Eastern potentates are infinitely more generous than Americans. The Duchess returned from the Gulf laden with expensive jewellery and perfumes, while a tour of the US yielded baseball caps, chutney and honey.

The Duchess was given numerous items of jewellery during a ten-day tour in February of the Gulf states, whose royal families are known for showering VIPs with lavish gifts. She came away with a necklace, a brooch and a belt from the Royal Family of Kuwait, as well as another necklace and four glass bottles of perfume from the Royal Family of Qatar. The Qatari royals also presented her with two black abayas, full-length Islamic robes and veils worn by Muslim women.

The Royal Family of Bahrain gave the Duchess a watch, a bracelet and a silver box with a pearl inset. When the Prince and his wife visited Uganda in November, the Duchess also received a necklace from the President’s wife.

The Prince was given a watch by the Royal Family of Kuwait and a pistol from the commandant of the state’s military staff college.

The total cost of the presents is not known, but past trips have seen the Duchess receive glittering pieces, reported to be worth in excess of £1 million. In 2006 she was given a ruby necklace made of 37 sparkling stones by the Saudi royals.

The Prince and Duchess received 274 individual items while abroad in 2007, including two carpets from Kuwait.

An Arab stallion was presented by an unnamed individual in Kuwait. It was the second that the Prince has been given in recent years. He received another while in Saudi in 2006. It will be looked after in the same British stables as the Saudi one, but Clarence House declined to say where this was or whether the animals were being cared for alongside the Queen’s horses.

Numerous presents come from members of the public who hand over their tokens during royal walkabouts. Items given by locals in the US included three poems, a photocopy of a photograph and a civic flag.

While in Turkey in November, the Prince, 59, and 60-year-old Duchess were given two more walking sticks — possibly matching — from the University of Economics in Izmir.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Swine flu vaccine for all as drug rushed through
• Artificial sperm and the race to build a baby
• BBC jets out stars to tout for prizes