Among the gifts from the Royal Family and UK PM David Cameron to US President Barack Obama in 2011 were a china tea set, an eagle tapestry and a dog toy, the US state department has revealed.

BBC: China tea set and brooch among royals' gifts to Obamas

The death of Princess Diana in 1997 was even an occasion where the scale and intensity of public grief not only caught UK officials by surprise - but threatened to turn Britons against the Royal Family for their perceived remoteness.

BBC: What is 'national mourning' for?

The report from the WRVS, formerly the Women's Royal Voluntary Service, describes how "fragmented" family life in the UK can leave older people stranded with little contact from their own children.

BBC: Many elderly isolated from far-away family, charity says