Fruit of kings can weigh 4lb

The world’s heaviest apple, from Hirosaki, Japan, in 2005, was 1.849 kg (4lb 1oz).

Apples have been grown in the UK for food since Roman times.

Specially cultivated varieties arrived from Europe with the Normans.

Britain’s first large scale fruit orchards were planted on the orders of Henry VIII.

Old English, first recorded in 1204, was the main dessert apple until the 18th century.