History doesn’t record the reaction of Henry VIII’s daughter Mary when her dad presented her with a gift on March 1 in 1536.
But, given it was a leek, we can imagine her gratitude was a little forced.
There was a good reason, though, as a leek is the national symbol of Wales and March 1 marks St David’s Day, the feast day of the patron of Wales.
And King Henry VIII — the one with the six wives — was from the Welsh Tudor dynasty.
Historically, the Welsh also wore a leek in their caps every St David’s Day but, in modern times, the daffodil is commonly worn instead as a symbol of Welsh identity.
Did you know?
In Welsh the word for a leek is cenhinen and a daffodil is cenhinen pedr (meaning Peter’s leek). Experts speculate that the daffodil may have been adopted as an alternative Welsh symbol in the late 19thcentury because of a spelling mix-up!
