In England, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Thomas Becket andgave  him an eagle-shaped ampulla filled with holy oil, and a golden spoon to be used to crown England’s Kings. The ampulla was lost for two centuries, but was discovered before Henry IV’s coronation in 1399.

When the oil it contained was used to anoint the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I in 1559, it is said to have gone rancid; she is said to have remarked that “the grease smelt ill.” Whether these legends are true or not, the eagle-shaped ampulla is now reserved at the Tower of London with the rest of the Crown Jewels.

HT: Fish Eaters