Royal Gifts

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) relished her New Year’s gifts. Court records indicate that the queen received silk and satin garments (once, a sea-green silk petticoat), jewelry and personal items made from precious metals (for example, a jeweled toothpick), perfume, cakes, pies, and preserved fruits. Her gentlewomen offered her embroidered cushions, handkerchiefs, pillows, and articles of clothing. In return Elizabeth bestowed gifts of silver and gold on her courtiers. The custom of presenting gifts to the monarch faded away in the eighteenth century.