British Royal | The owner of the British swans changed with the new ruler

Foreign countries|British royals

River Thames The swans that swim in the bends and delight visitors on the banks of British waterways have got a new owner, news agency Reuters tells. Queen Elizabeth’s after the death of Britain’s new monarch the king Charles has inherited many of the country’s swans.

“The king has the right to claim any swan that swims in open water as his own if he so wishes,” says David Barberwho worked for about 30 years as the Queen’s “Marker of the Swans”.

“Not all swans belong to the king, but if he wants one, he can have it by using his royal prerogative,” Barber told Reuters.

Swans ownership has its roots in the Middle Ages in the 12th century, when the Crown of England at the time declared all mute swans to be its property. At that time, birds were considered a great delicacy and their meat was eaten at festive meals.

“Back then, swans were a very important source of food, and they were served at parties for the really wealthy,” says Barber.

“Of course, nowadays swans are no longer eaten, but this is all about conservation and education,” he points out.

The ruler shares the ownership of the mute swans with the old trading associations.

Barberwhose official uniform is a scarlet jacket and a hat decorated with a swan feather, met the Queen several times over the years at public and informal events.

“He was a very, very lovely person. He was very easy to get along with. And he was very interested in all wildlife, including swans,” Barber said, hoping Charles would follow his mother’s example of interest in conservation.

The tasks of the swan tagger also include the annual swan count, where groups of trade associations and the monarch count the number of swans swimming in the River Thames for five days.

Barber declined to estimate to Reuters the number of swans owned by the king.