A partial history of the Resolute desk from ourwhitehouse.org The Resolute served in the British Royal Navy for twenty-three years until she was decommissioned. No longer in service, she was sent to the breakers dock for salvage.Queen Victoria ordered that a desk be made from her best timbers. This was the gift that she sent to the White House. The desk, made from the ship that sealed a lasting friendship between Great Britain and the United States, has been in the White House ever since.It is considered a national treasure and an icon of the presidency. The desk is still...