Death Isabella II and the succession of his son, Charles III, unearth some of the most colorful traditions of the English crown. One of them is to give a newly crowned monarch lamprey pieancient oblong fish, no jaw or scaleswhose main hobby is parasitizing other fish and sucking their blood. This description does not sound very appetizing, but tradition is tradition.
Elizabeth II also ate lamprey cake at her coronation and it was even served to her during her diamond jubilee. Before her, dozens of kings of England did the same. There was even one Henry Iwho allegedly died from eating too much lamprey pie.
So the historian of that time tells us, but so far we cannot know whether this was the cause of his death. What is clear is that death did not break the tradition; that, even after undergoing some changes, has come down to our days. Now it’s Carlos III’s turn to eat the lamprey pie, and we must remember a bit of his history.
When lamprey was considered a delicacy for the rich
Lamprey is a very ancient animal. Fossils have been found that are 360 million years old, and although some species extinctthose that remain today are not far from their predecessors.
Perhaps that is why lamprey, along with its precious meat, has become a delicacy for centuries, which rich and powerful people. From the ancient Romans to the Vikings, everyone enjoyed its meat, which could be eaten alone or cooked as a flatbread.
In addition, in medieval Europe it was allowed eat lamprey on fast daysso it became food typical for Christmas. On the eve of this holiday, it was considered fasting, so those who could afford it took the opportunity to feast on lamprey meat. Following this custom, the city Gloucester He started the tradition of giving the King of England a lamprey pie every year at Christmas.
It should be noted that many lamprey species live in sweet water. Since the city is built outside River Severnthey had good access to fishing. However, its distribution was an economic effort due to how highly prized its meat was. Therefore, the time has come when traditions were not respected. It was in 1200 yearduring the reign John Iwho decided to fine the whole city for 40 framesfor refusing to offer a typical lamprey pie.
From Henry I to Charles III
Shortly before Juan I’s wrath, another king, Enrique I, allegedly died from drinking lamprey cake.
His doctor instructed him not to eat the meat of this animal because he always got sick when he did. This may be due to some personal intolerance or simply because high fat his meat could worsen some of the diseases from which he suffered. But the monarch was deaf to food, continued to eat, and finally, after one of his tricks with a lamprey cake, finished eating. get sick and die.
Nevertheless, and despite the fine of 1200, the tradition of presenting lamprey pie to monarchs at Christmas continued well into the 19th century. Thus, it was abandoned due to the high price of its meat. However, in some special situations such as coronations or anniversariesGloucester continued to offer the gift.
Elizabeth II received a lamprey cake his coronation in 1953. The fish for its manufacture was supplied by a company from Gloucester but was caught in Grimsby.
Later, in 2012, on the occasion of his Diamond Jubilee, he was given a cake again. However, in this case they had to be asked. USA.
Invasive or endangered species?
pollution of the rivers of England led to a marked decline in the lamprey population. Therefore, for prevent it from disappearing, its catching is prohibited without the slightest exception. That’s why the city of Gloucester had no chance of catching lampreys for Elizabeth II on her diamond jubilee.
But they had option B. After studying the situation with fish in other parts of the world, they learned that in Great Lakes of North America lamprey steel Invasive specieswhich endangered other native fish species. Let’s not forget that this is a fish that parasitizes and kills other fish by sucking their blood, so it was a real headache.
Upon hearing this news, from England they contacted the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, whose representative, Mark Gaden, was glad to be able to send them a few copies. The two countries reached an agreement that culminated in the shipment of a kilo of frozen lamprey meat to the UK.
A cake was prepared there, which was served to the Queen on her birthday. But what is curious, after all these wanderings, she did not eat it. Allegedly and according to what was stated from the Royal House, everything was for security considerations. Perhaps they did not want what happened to Henry II to happen to him.
Will Carlos III now bring a kilogram of lamprey meat from the USA so as not to taste it? We will have to wait to see if security prevails this time as well.
Source: Hiper Textual
