5 things you probably never would have guessed were presents to Queen Elizabeth II

In 2013, the London Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary. Of course, the queen came to congratulate, too — and received a little something as a gift, just for Her Majesty: a commemorative Oyster Card, the electronic ticket used for public transport in London. The queen said thank you, but hasn't been spotted riding the tube since.

Ever since she was a girl, Queen Elizabeth has been very fond of horses. She's also a gifted rider, so her shoe collection is sure to include riding boots. This gift by a Texas governor, however, is unlikely to have brought a sparkle to her eye: During a US visit 1991, she and her grandchildren received hand-tooled cowboy boots. No one ever saw her wear the boots.

Looking at this gift today, you might think Queensland authorities were making a bad joke when the Australian state sent Elizabeth and her husband Philipp 500 crates of canned pineapple as a wedding gift in 1947. In fact, the food situation was still dire after the war, so the canned fruit ended up being a much-welcome donation for schools and hospitals.

The painting the queen received in Berlin in 2015 is entitled "Horse in Royal Blue." It's by a German painter, and portrays the monarch as a young girl on a pony with her father, King George VI. The German and the British press mocked the artwork. A pro after 63 years on the throne, the queen kept her opinion to herself.

Similarities with living persons are purely coincidental, one would hope, in view of this gift by the Brazilian government in 1968: a cute but quite inert pair of sloths. Off they went to London Zoo, home to a few other "live" gifts: a jaguar, an elephant and two beavers from Canada.