LONDON //What do you give the couple who have everything? The answer, in the case of Prince William and Kate Middleton, is a donation to charity.
Not for them the roomful of antique furniture including a four-poster bed in maple that Canada gave to Prince William's mother, Diana, and Prince Charles for their wedding in 1981.
Or the 20 silver platters inscribed with the date of the marriage, which was Australia's gift 30 years ago.
The second-in-line to the throne and his fiancee have asked anyone wanting to give them a present to pay into a fund to support 26 charities, many of which are not particularly well known.
One is the appeal for aid following the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in February that killed more than 200 people. The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary and Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service are also on the list of beneficiaries.
Most of the charities are British and some reflect the prince's military background. A handful help service personnel and their families, such as the Army Widows' Association.
Donations to www.royalweddingcharityfund.org can be made in six currencies. The money will be held by a foundation set up by the prince and his brother, Prince Harry.
Prince William proposed to Miss Middleton while on holiday in Kenya, and his affinity for causes in Africa is reflected by his choice of conservation projects run by the Zoological Society of London to save the black rhino and African elephant from extinction. The couple have also decided to support the children's charity, Beatbullying.
But there will still be a few presents for Miss Middleton and Prince William to unwrap.
The people of Wales will give them a piece of Welsh crystal. The couple have lived for the past two years in Anglesey in north Wales, where the prince is an RAF helicopter pilot.
The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said: "The happy couple have strong links with the country and this is where they have chosen to make their home."
A South African airline has made a tongue-in-cheek offer to give Miss Middleton's family a herd of cows, an African tradition known as "lobola" that requires the groom to make a symbolic payment to the bride's family. The airline, kulula.com, said it would source the herd in Britain, providing her family accepted.
The Canadian government, which has a history of giving generous wedding presents to British royals,will not announce its gift until the wedding day. The province of Alberta has already made a donation of 25,000 Canadian dollars (Dh96,200) to seven shelters for young homeless people.
* Agence Presse-France
