Sweet Queens and Kings

Sweet Queens and Kings is a lunchtime talk at The London Archives on Monday 14 December, starting at 12:30pm. It's a Christmas-themed look at how monarchs have shaped the food we associate with the season over the centuries, and it's led by Louise Grainger, a member of the City of London Guide Lecturers Association and a City of London Green Badge Guide.

Grainger starts with the Forme of Cury, the cookbook compiled by King Richard II's chefs in the 1390s, and works her way forward to shortbread, gingerbread, marzipan and more. Along the way, she shows how many of these sweets carried diplomatic weight for monarchs like Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I and James I & VI. It's not all courtly etiquette, either: at least one Christmas food caused unrest and even riots.

The talk runs for about 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a Q&A, so it's a proper lunchtime session rather than a full afternoon. It's in-person only, and tickets are £10.

The London Archives is a free public archive devoted to London's history from 1067 to the present day, based at 40 Northampton Road in Clerkenwell, close to Farringdon Station.