What do the people of the city of Gloucester send the British monarch for their coronation and jubilees?

Lamprey pie is a pastry dish made from sea lampreys or European river lampreys. Lampreys were a delicacy for the wealthy in medieval England and were often given as gifts to royalty as a means of seeking favour. It became tradition for the city of Gloucester to give the monarch a lamprey pie each Christmas. In 1200 the city was fined 40 marks (equivalent to £38,000 in 2020) for failing to provide the pie. The annual custom ended in 1836 but a pie is still presented on special occasions such as coronations and jubilees.

Lampreys are parasitic carnivorous elongated jawless fishes present in saltwater and freshwater. In Europe the sea lamprey and European river lamprey have a long history as a human foodstuff. They were eaten by the Romans since at least the 1st century AD and were considered a high-status food.

Lamprey pie remained a delicacy in England until the early 19th century; it was sometimes called Politicians' Pie. Margaret Taylor, writing in 1795, described a lamprey pie recipe: "clean, wash and season them with sweet seasoning; lay them in a coffin with citron and lemon sliced; butter and close the pie".