Royal drinks for raising a glass to Her Majesty

History suggests the Royal Family have always been enthusiastic drinkers. The most obvious example is Henry VIII, a monarch who proved to be excessive in everything he did, and spent an estimated £6m a year on booze. And in more recent centuries you’ll discover an ongoing Royal appreciation.

Queen Victoria for example was an eminent imbiber of alcohol, her preferred poison being an unusual mix of whisky and red wine. Together. In the same glass. She was particularly partial to Vin Mariani, a drink made by Angelo Mariani by steeping cocoa leaves in French red wine for six months. Alleged to be the original recipe for Coca-Cola, each fluid ounce once contained 7.2 milligrams of cocaine, although today’s incarnation is produced using top-growth Bordeaux fortified with de-cocainised Peruvian Coca leaf.

After Victoria came King Edward VII who reigned from 1901 to 1910. Along with drinking, his pastimes included golf, hunting, inking up his body with tattoos, bedding mistresses and taking regular spins in his Daimler (hopefully not while drinking).