Steed Poll is an irregular series of brief blog posts about the mounts of famous figures – horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and even zebras who have strayed into texts and been preserved in some small way for history.
Presents continued to come from the Emperor in Spain to signify his serious intentions: two mules with crimson velvet trappings and marvellous garnishing of silver and gilt for King Henry, and mules with equally rich trappings but ‘after the Spanish fashion’ for the Queen [Catherine].
and one divorce later…
At least her accounts show that Queen Anne had the bravado to keep up her royal state – and her royal spending [in 1536]. … There were decorated leading reins for the Queen’s mules, green ribbons (the Tudor colour) for her clavichords and expensive caps for her ‘woman fool’.