Being a monarch comes with its perks, one of which is being showered with gifts all the time.
To mark Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, we thought we'd take a look at some of the strangest gifts ever bequeathed to Her Majesty.
Horse semen
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Our horse-loving monarch was probably put off riding for a while after breeder Christina Patino gifted her £5,000 worth of stud sperm from one of her premium animals.
A bag of salt
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The British Virgin Islands' Governor John Duncan was nice enough to gift Her Maj a 1lb bag of salt in 2015. There was a reason, however. It represented an old tradition where the archipelago's Salt Island would pay Queen Victoria an annual rent from its famous salt ponds. Sadly, Duncan's gift was lost by a member of palace staff.
Two sloths
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Lizzie popped over to Brazil in 1968 and was presented with two sloths.
She probably thought: "What the bloody hell am I supposed to do with these?" - they ended up being donated to London Zoo.
She probably thought: "What the bloody hell am I supposed to do with these?" - they ended up being donated to London Zoo.
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A wine cooler that looks like a grasshopper
Toby Melville/PA Archive
President and Mrs Pompidou of France gave this oddity to Liz in 1972. Doesn't really fit with the rest of the decor.
A book about Arab horses
Yui Mok/PA Archive
The ambassador of Bahrain once gave the Queen a copy of 'Arab Horse – a historical record of the Al-Khalifa’s Arab Horse Strains'. Sounds like a great coffee table book.
A framed origami bird
Photo by Lars Oppermann via Getty Images
Queenie was given this peculiar gift by The Tom Smith Group during a trip to Wales.
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A marzipan model of the Brandenburg Gate
Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
During a state visit to Germany, president Joachim Gauck presented Liz with a marzipan representation of Berlin's most iconic landmark.
A bristle brush boot scraper
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Come on guys, when have you ever seen the Queen wear boots?
A box of mud
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This'd go well with her boot scraper - in 2014 the Wellington Barracks presented Her Majesty with a silver box of soil from the WWI battlefields.
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An Oyster Card
ap
On the 150th anniversary of the London Underground network, The Queen was given a commemorative Oyster card during a visit to Baker Street station. Not sure how much use she'll get out of it.
A pair of cowboy boots
David Zalubowski/AP
Yet another gift that she'll never use, Her Majesty was given a pair of cowboy boots during a trip to the US in 1991.
“Official gifts can be worn and used by the royals, but are not considered their own personal property.They can eat any food they are given, and some official gifts with a value less than £150 can be donated to charity or staff.The gifts given to the family cannot be sold or exchanged and will eventually become part of the Royal Collection.”
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