Editing Swan upping

{{short description|Annual ceremony on the River Thames}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
[[File:Queen's Swan Uppers.jpg|right|thumb|The Queen's swan uppers (right) and the [[Worshipful Company of Vintners|Vintners]]' swan uppers (left), on the [[River Thames|Thames]] at [[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]], 2006]]
'''Swan upping''' is an annual ceremony in [[England]] in which [[mute swan]]s on the [[River Thames]] are rounded up, caught, [[Bird ringing|ringed]], and then released.

==History==
By [[Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom|prerogative]] right, the [[The Crown|British Crown]] enjoys ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water. Rights over swans may, however, be granted to a [[British subject]] by the Crown (accordingly they may also be claimed by prescription).<ref>[https://archive.org/details/reportssiredwar00cokegoog/page/n172 <!-- pg=82 quote="case of swans". --> ''The Case of Swans'' (1592) 7 Co. Rep. 15b]</ref> Until the 16th century, the ownership of swans in a given body of water was commonly granted to landowners. The only bodies who still exercise such rights are two [[Livery company|livery companies]] of the [[City of London]], the [[Worshipful Company of Vintners]] and the [[Worshipful Company of Dyers]], who thus share equally with the Crown in the number of swans in the Thames that they own. The tradition of swan upping on the Thames began in the 12th century.<ref name=Reuters>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/swan-upping-tradition-begins-on-the-rive-idOV779618072023RP1 |title='Swan Upping' tradition begins on the River Thames |publisher=Reuters |date=17 July 2023 |type=video, 2&nbsp;mins, 13&nbsp;secs }}</ref><ref name="Cancelled-2012">{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |title=Windsor Swan Upping ceremony cancelled due to flooding |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-18831276 |date=13 July 2012 }}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Swan Upping.jpg|right|thumb|The skiffs surround the swans so that they can be more easily caught.]]
Swan upping is the traditional means by which the swans on the Thames are apportioned among the three proprietors. Its main practical purposes today are to conduct a [[census]] of swans and check their health. It occurs annually in the third week of July. Over five days, the Crown's, the Vintners' and the Dyers' respective 'swan uppers' row up the river in [[Thames skiff|skiffs]] (in recent centuries from [[Sunbury-on-Thames|Sunbury]] to [[Abingdon on Thames|Abingdon]]).<ref name=official>{{cite web |url=https://www.royal.uk/swans |title=Swan Upping |website=The Royal Family |access-date=27 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Wheals | first = Brian Brenchley  | title = Theirs Were But Human Hearts: A Local History of Three Thameside Parishes | publisher = H.S. Publishing | year = 1984 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SVsn5Cf2d4YC&dq=Swans+John+Turk&pg=PA65 | isbn = 0-9509053-0-5 | page = 65}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
 | author = The Queen's Swan Marker
 | title = Royal Swan Upping
 | publisher = Trinityweb Ltd
 | year = 2018
 | url = http://www.royalswan.co.uk/
 }}</ref> 

The Crown's swans are recorded by the [[Marker of the Swans]], who is rowed in a skiff by oarsmen from the [[Company of Watermen and Lightermen]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://heartheboatsing.com/2011/07/22/a-day-with-the-uppers/ | title=A Day with the Uppers | website=Hear the Boat Sing | date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> The Crown's swan uppers, who wear distinctive red uniforms, catch the swans, weigh and measure the [[Swan#Etymology and terminology|cygnet]]s, and check them for injuries.<ref name=official/><ref name=BBC>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66317374 |title=Swan upping: Royal cygnet numbers drop by 40% in a year |publisher=BBC News |date=27 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name=BBC-Queen>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2009/07/20/swan_feature.shtml |title=Queen counts her swans |publisher=BBC |date=21 July 2009 |orig-date=20 July 2009 }}</ref>

Based on their parentage, cygnets are determined to belong to the Crown, the Dyers or the Vintners.<ref name=official/> Swans belonging to the Crown are left unmarked, except for a lightweight ring linked to the database of the [[British Trust for Ornithology]].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} Those belonging to the Dyers and Vintners receive a similar ring on the other leg.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} The rings have replaced nicks on the swans' [[beak|bill]]s, which used to be made with a metal implement, one nick for the Dyers and one on each side for the Vintners.<ref name=BBC-Queen/> The former practice is reflected in ''[[Swan with Two Necks, London|The Swan with Two Necks]]'', the name of a former pub in the City connected with the Vintners, which was a corruption of "The Swan with Two Nicks".{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

== Seigneur of the Swans ==
{{Infobox office
| post = Seigneur
| body = the Swans
| image = Prince Charles in Aotearoa (cropped).jpg
| insigniasize = 40
| insignia = Royal Cypher of King Charles III.svg
| incumbent = [[Charles III]]<br/>{{nobold|King of the United Kingdom}}
| imagesize = 80
| formation = c. 12th Century
| type = Position held by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Monarch]]
| insigniacaption = 
}}'''Seigneur of the Swans''' is a title of the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Monarch]] in regards to swan upping in England. The title which has stood for centuries and reflects the monarchs prerogative of ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water.<ref>{{Cite web |last=guys |first=weird medieval |date=2023-04-17 |title=No, the King doesn't own all the swans in Britain |url=https://weirdmedievalguys.substack.com/p/no-the-king-of-england-doesnt-own |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=weird medieval guys}}</ref>

The present holder is [[King Charles III]].

They have two officers charged with carrying out this responsibility on behalf of them, the [[Warden of the Swans]] and the [[Marker of the Swans]] both are offices of the royal household, before 1993 both positions were one position of the Keeper of the King's/Queen's Swans.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-19 |title=Is There Really a Warden of The Swans and a Royal Herb Strewer? |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a46105505/traditional-royal-household-roles-guide-explained/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Town & Country |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Marker of the Swans and Kings swan uppers, all wear the [[Royal cypher|Royal Cypher]] of the current Monarch on their uniform.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-20 |title=In pictures: Counting the King's swans on the Thames |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjk38mxrnyzo |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

On 20 July 2009, [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], as Seigneur of the Swans, attended the Swan Upping ceremony, the first time a reigning monarch had personally attended.<ref name="BBC-Queen" />

==Cancellations==
In 2012, exceptional high river flows for summer prompted a partial cancellation: between Sunbury and [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], the first time the tradition is known to have been cancelled (albeit partially).<ref name="Cancelled-2012"/>

The first known full cancellation took place in 2020 due to [[COVID-19 pandemic in England|COVID-19]] social distancing measures.<ref name="Cancelled-2020">{{cite news |first=Anita |last=Singh |newspaper=The Telegraph |title=Royal tradition of swan upping cancelled this year due to coronavirus  |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/16/royal-tradition-swan-upping-cancelled-year-due-coronavirus/ |date=16 May 2020 }}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
File:Life on the upper Thames - swan-upping (1875).jpg|"Swan Upping on the Thames", from Henry Robert Robertson's ''Life on the Upper Thames'', (1875)
File:Swan upping at Henley.jpg|A Queen's swan upper with a mute swan during 2010 swan upping at [[Henley-on-Thames]]
File:Vintners' swan marker.jpg|Swan marker of the [[Worshipful Company of Vintners]], in his blue uniform, during 2011 swan upping, Abingdon.
File:Swan Upping at Cookham.jpg|''Swan Upping at Cookham'', by [[Stanley Spencer]], oil on canvas, 1915–19
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Royal fish]]
* [[Royal Swans]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Norman Frederic Ticehurst, ''The Mute Swan in England: Its History, and the Ancient Custom of Swan Keeping'' (1957).

==External links==
{{Commons category|Swan Upping}}
* [http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsor1999/upping.html The Royal Windsor website]
* [http://www.vintnershall.co.uk/?page=swan_upping Vintners' Company website]
* [http://www.cookham.com/community/news/general/swannupping/swannupping2009.htm Swan Upping at Cookham]

{{Ceremonies of the British monarch}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan Upping}}
[[Category:Monarchy of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Swans]]
[[Category:Culture associated with the River Thames]]
[[Category:English traditions]]
[[Category:Ceremonies in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:July]]