Counting the Queen鈥檚 royal swans
Print Edition
Royal officials clad in scarlet outfits took to the River Thames in traditional boats yesterday for the annual 鈥淪wan Upping鈥 ceremony, an 800-year-old tradition of counting the swans owned by Britain鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth.
Teams in old-fashioned skiffs will row up a stretch of the river over the next five days to carry out the annual census of the birds, shouting 鈥渁ll up鈥 when they come across a mute swan and its family of young cygnets.
鈥淲e will lift the whole family out of the water. We will take them ashore. We weigh them, measure them and check them for any injuries,鈥 David Barber, the Queen鈥檚 swan marker, said. 鈥淵ou have a population of swans that hasn鈥檛 changed much since the mid-1800s.鈥
The ancient ceremony dates back to the 12th century when the English crown first claimed ownership of all mute swans, which have long curved necks, orange beaks and white feathers and were then considered a delicacy that would be served at banquets.
鈥淭hese days it鈥檚 nothing to do with eating swan, it鈥檚 all about conservation and education,鈥 said Barber, who has carried out his job for 26 years.
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