Some readers will be aware that Gloucester has been presenting a lamprey pie – a pie made with eel-like fish known as lampreys – to the monarch since the medieval era. It was initially given each year at Christmas, but that practice ended in 1836 because it was considered too expensive. It was said that King Henry I died from “a surfeit of lampreys”.

Presented by the city to the monarch on special occasions

A lamprey pie is still presented by the city to the monarch on special occasions. For the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and when Queen Elizabeth II became the country’s longest-reigning monarch in 2015, the lampreys had to be imported from America because they had become a protected species in the River Severn.

For the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the city decided against importing the lampreys due to the environmental cost. It was also felt that during a cost of living crisis it wouldn’t be appropriate to make a pie that wouldn’t be eaten. On that occasion, a pie was made using a traditional Gloucestershire recipe of pork and apple, with the lampreys represented in pastry on the pie’s crust. The pie was presented to the Lord Lieutenant and then donated to Gloucester Feed The Hungry. The same approach was taken for King Charles III’s Coronation.

This year the King was presented with a beautiful stone version

In May this year, the King was presented with a beautiful stone version of the lamprey pie, carved by local award-winning sculptor Debs Harrison and paid for by private donations from individuals and businesses – a project I had the privilege of coordinating.

The Mayor, Sheriff and Town Crier presented the gift at the King’s residence at Highgrove, near Tetbury, where it will go on display. It will be put in its final position as part of a bigger project in the gardens next year. So the thousands of visitors to Highgrove’s beautiful gardens each year will hopefully become aware of this historic, and rather quirky, tradition.