Basil the Magnificent

"who" said Pearl, "Basil" said Pickle, "You said Basil, with the 'a' sounding as in 'bivouac', "Of course" said Pickle, "That's English, do you want me to pronounce it as in 'dwelling-place, as the North Americans do?" "Heaven forbid, whatever that may mean" said Pearl, "carry on".
"Basil (not 'Bayzil) started with a very poor and mean background but rose to a king in Byzantium (and that is a 'bi' not a 'by') he was actually Basil the first and probably the only.
As you can see in the picture he is holding an onion with the instructions to his minion to have the cook prepare his favourite French Onion Soup and hold the basil.