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• Among the treasures discovered at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, England, is a 121-year-old chocolate bar, still in its tin, commissioned by Queen Victoria for troops fighting in the Second Boer War in South Africa, Reuters reported on March 31.
Oxburgh was the ancestral home of the Bedingfeld family for 500 years, and one of them, Sir Henry Edward Paston-Bedingfeld, fought in that war; the chocolate bar was discovered in his helmet case.
"Although you wouldn't want it as your Easter treat," mused Anna Forrest, cultural heritage curator at Britain's National Trust, "it is still complete and a remarkable find."
On the lid, a message is inscribed in Queen Victoria's handwriting: "I wish you a happy new year." [Reuters, 3/31/2021]