Today is the anniversary which marks the start of Britain’s burgeoning love affair with tea: the day Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, docked in Portsmouth in 1662. Catherine travelled from Portugal to England to marry King Charles II, bringing with her the biggest dowry known in history, which included a chest of tea. In Portugal at this time, tea drinking was a common custom which was enjoyed by both sexes, whereas in England tea was considered a masculine drink since it was only sold in coffee houses. [caption id="attachment_4375" align="aligncenter" width="813"]

The BBC drama series Charles II: The Power and the Passion featuring Shirley Henderson as Catherine of Braganza and Rufus Sewell as Charles II.[/caption] Queen Catherine soon changed this perception, as she became a highly influential figure to the ladies at court. Queen Catherine adapted Britain’s perception of tea and so it became socially accepted for women to drink. It is believed that as soon as she touched English soil the first beverage she asked for was tea, but since it was still rather an unusual beverage they provided her with ale instead. Here is an example of the style of ceramic teapot that Queen Catherine would have taken tea from. The teapot was made in China for export c.1661-1772. The chain and silver-gilt mounts are later Dutch additions which would have been added for preservation of the teapot.   For some time Britain relied on the import of Chinese teapots since British manufacturers could not produce a strong enough ceramic teapot themselves.