Trump UK visit: President gives personalised Air Force One jacket to Prince Philip
The exchanging of gifts is a custom between heads of state
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Your support makes all the difference.President Trump has given the Duke of Edinburgh a personalised Air Force One jacket as a special gift in honour of the UK state visit.
The famous jackets are traditionally worn by US presidents when travelling by air – the Air Force One name can be attributed to any aircraft carrying the American leader but today refers to one of two customised jets.
Photographs of previous presidents, including Barack Obama and George Washington, show that the jackets are navy and feature the president’s name embroidered in white italics on the left-hand side with the Air Force One logo stitched onto the right.
The aircraft’s logo is “one of the most recognisable symbols of the presidency,” the White House website states, “spawning countless references not just in American culture but across the world.
“Emblazoned with the words United States of America, the American flag, and the Seal of the President of the United States, it is an undeniable presence wherever it flies.”
It’s an apt gift for Prince Philip, who became a pilot for the Royal Air Force in 1952 and later acquired his private pilot’s licence in 1959.
The 97-year-old was also given a first-edition signed copy of I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, the autobiography by aviation pioneer James Doolittle.
For the Queen’s present, Trump chose an Elsa Peretti sterling silver red silk brooch from American jeweller Tiffany & Co.
The Queen gave two gifts to the US president, which were presented to him after a private lunch at Buckingham Palace. One was a first edition copy of The Second World War by Winston S Churchill and the other was a three-piece Duofold pen set.
The British monarch presented Melania with a specially-commissioned silver box that boasted a handcrafted enamel lid covered in royal blue decorations.
Stay up to date with Trump’s UK visit here.
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