In his weekly radio address to the nation on Saturday, Correa said he wanted to sell the jewels — which include earrings and a necklace made of diamonds and emeralds and set in white gold — to finance social programs in Ecuador.

Correa said the jewelry given to his wife, Anne Malherbe, was worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and he wanted the royal’s approval to sell it to “avoid any resentment” from the king.

The jewels “can’t stay with my wife,” Correa said. “She didn’t receive them for being Anne Malherbe, but for being the president’s wife. They belong to the Ecuadorean people.”

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