King Charles, the United Kingdom’s monarch, holds a unique title: “Seigneur of the Swans.” This label means he owns every unmarked wild swan in England that roams the country’s rivers.
The sovereign put this title to good use on Friday, July 19, when he participated in the traditional “Swan Upping” event, a census of the swan population on the River Thames. This custom, which dates back to the 12th century, was facilitated by David Barber, the current Royal Swan Marker, and his team.
The team set out on a journey of the famous river’s 79-mile reach to count the white birds swimming around. The custom was originally used to mark swans for the royal family’s culinary delights, but nowadays, it has become an essential part of wildlife conservation.
The Royal Family shared a clip of the event via Instagram, showing the Swan Upping crew rowing in boats called “skiffs” to record the swans. The ships also held red flags that were branded with Charles’ royal emblem.
King Charles, Queen Elizabeth Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Barber opened up about the Swan Upping event, noting that the entire process takes only about 20 minutes to complete. “All the young cygnets and adult birds have to be released together as the cygnets will get lost otherwise. So you have to be very, very careful. You face the cygnet to the parent bird, and then they will go off in the water together,” he said.
“Swans are large birds that weigh up to 15 kilograms, so they are a very large bird to deal with. They have a wingspan of approximately 2.5 meters, so they are heavy to get out of the water and, of course, they flap around quite a bit too,” he added.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images For Buckingham Palace It has been an eventful year since King Charles III was officially blessed and anointed as the monarch of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth territories. Charles assumed the British throne in September 2022 after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96. “My […]
He added, “It’s worth doing because if we didn’t, the population of swans would just gradually disappear.” The tradition of the Swan Upping was even featured in season six of Netflix’s The Crown, which saw Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) have a tiff with prime minister Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel) over how to improve the monarchy’s reputation.
The Swan Upping is Charles’ latest public outing as he continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer, having delivered a speech to Parliament at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday, July 17.
