 According to legend, the Sultan had originally intended to send £10,000, but either British diplomats or his own ministers requested that the Sultan send only £1,000, so as not to donate more than Queen Victoria, who had sent £2,000.He is also said to have sent three or five ships full of food.The British administration allegedly attempted to block the ships, but by local tradition the food arrived secretly at Drogheda harbour and was left there by Ottoman sailors.