Here we have our last clue, the Crown of Scotland. Scotland and porridge seem forever linked, and oddly oats are one of a handful of grains that cope with the Scottish weather. They were first grown in Scotland way back in Medieval times, and eaten much the same way as we do today, cutting the cereals and grinding them, then cooking them in a pot of water or milk. However then they were baked in a fire to make what we call oat-cakes today, and turned into a food which they could carry around with them as they travelled from place to place and gnaw at whenever they were hungry. Later, when they became more settled, people still cooked the porridge in the same way and let it go hard to store it. Then it would be consumed in small pieces, often fried, and any left over would be returned to the pot and melted down in combination with new oats. It was only later that porridge was eaten for breakfast as a soft, milky consistency, often enhanced by sugar.
This crown was used by many Scottish Kings and Queens, and it is the oldest one in the British Isles, dating from the early 1500s, perhaps earlier. The first to wear it was James IV, but it was not this exact crown, for it was substantially remodelled in 1540 for James V. There is a theory that this remodelling included enlarging, for in 1542 it is said to have been worn by Mary I, who became queen at just six days old.
The crown has had a very exciting life, it was buried to hide it from Oliver Cromwell, and dug up for the restoration of Charles II. Then when England and Scotland were combined under one King, in 1707, it was locked away and lost. It was not re-discovered until 1818, by no less than Sir Walter Scott, who had been trying to find them for some time. It then went on display in Edinburgh Castle, being brought out on rare occasions, including the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. And poignantly its last outing was to be placed upon her coffin, in Edinburgh, just this September.
Our card was issued in the British Isles and as an export issue to New Zealand. There is a kind of error, where the final S of Crowns has been also seen as much larger than the rest of the word. It is also known that some of the other letters in that title are often found incomplete, like we illustrate on our card.