Kings and Fools

Sir Robert, give the Jester some coin….said the Queen. Oh, Cook, give him sweetmeats as well. I am still wiping away tears of laughter.

A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing...
It was the custom during the Middle Ages, that aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or jesters regarding them as pets or mascots. They generally wore a motley coat, hood with donkey ears, or a red-flannel coxcomb and bells. They served not simply to amuse, but to criticize their master and their guests. Queen Elizabeth is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behavior, however, could lead to a fool being whipped, as Lear threatens to whip his fool.