The red-faced officials of Rideau Hall, the official residence and workplace of every governor general of Canada since 1867, cleaned out a storeroom and put "tablecloths, ashtrays and Christmas decorations"--along with valuable antique china and silver that included three sterling flower baskets inscribed to the Duke of York that were on loan from Buckingham Palace--on the Crown Assets government disposal website for auction. Canada's Governor General is the representative of the British Crown in Canada. The government originally sold the baskets, which had been presented as gifts to Queen Elizabeth's grandparents, for $532, and paid $50,000 to buy them back.
The secretary to current Governor General Michaelle Jean to the Toronto Sun today that they were unaware that the government was in possession of the valuable silver antiques until the paper reported their sale.
According to the Sun, "[The} staff are scouring Rideau Hall and finding other things they hadn't known were there, such as a cigarette box engraved with the names of several governors general."
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