SOUTH African president Jacob Zuma presented the Queen with a chess set yesterday - only to discover it was almost identical to a gift from Nelson Mandela. But then he looked across the room at Buckingham Palace and spotted the matching set with painted ceramic warrior figures.
President Zuma, who is on a state visit, beamed with pride as he handed over his game board with glass and pewter warrior pieces.
His predecessor Mr Mandela had given Prince Philip the game on a visit 14 years ago.
A startled President Zuma said: "Oh, another set." The Queen then picked up some of the pieces to give him a closer look.
The Queen and Jacob Zuma take a close look at the chess set he presented her - without realising it was the second one she had received
Also there to meet the president were PM Gordon Brown, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
They were all smiles, despite Downing Street earlier declining to comment on reports President Zuma had accused the British of looking down on South Africans.
The 67-year-old leader told a South African paper: "When the British came to our country they said everything we did was barbaric, was wrong, inferior.
"And I don't know why they are continuing thinking their culture is more superior than others."
The timing of the attack, on the eve of President Zuma's visit, is thought to have been sparked by criticism of his private life.
President Zuma is wed to three women in a polygamous marriage.
He has also claimed taking a shower after sex would protect him from Aids - and enjoyed supporters singing a campaign anthem entitled Bring Me My Machine Gun.
j.clench@the-sun.co.uk
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