Swan upping - wikipedia Swan upping The Queen 's Swan Uppers ( right ), on the Thames at Abingdon The skiffs surround the swans so that they can be more easily caught. Swan upping is an annual ceremony in England in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, ringed, and then released. By prerogative right, the British Crown enjoys ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water. Rights over swans may, however, be granted to a subject by the Crown ( accordingly they may also be claimed by prescription. ) The ownership of swans in a given body of water was commonly granted to landowners up to the 16th century. The only bodies still to exercise such rights are two livery companies of the City of London. Thus the ownership of swans in the Thames is shared equally among the Crown, the Vintners ' Company and the Dyers ' Company. 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 Queen 's, Vintners ' and the Dyers ' respective swan uppers row up the river in skiffs in recent centuries from Sunbury - on - Thames to mid Oxfordshire. Swans caught by the Queen 's swan uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker are left unmarked, except for a lightweight ring linked to the database of the British Trust for Ornithology ( BTO ). Those caught by the Dyers and Vintners receive a similar ring on the other leg. Originally, rather than being ringed, swans ' bills would be nicked using a metal implement, a practice reflected in the pub name The Swan with Two Necks in the City connected with the Vintners, a corruption of `` The Swan with Two Nicks ''. On 20 July 2009, Queen Elizabeth II, as `` Seigneur of the Swans, '' attended the Swan Upping ceremony for the first time in her reign. This was the first time that the monarch had personally watched the ceremony in centuries. In 2012, exceptional high river flows for summer prompted a partial cancellation : between Sunbury - on - Thames and Windsor, the first definitively known cancellation ( albeit partial ) in its 900 - year history. `` Swan Upping on the Thames '', from Henry Robert Robertson 's Life on the Upper Thames, ( 1875 ) A Queen 's swan upper with a mute swan during 2010 swan upping at Henley - on - Thames Swan marker of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, in his blue uniform, during 2011 swan upping, Abingdon. Swan Upping at Cookham, by Stanley Spencer, oil on canvas, 1915 - 19 See also Royal fish Royal Swans References Jump up ^ The Case of Swans ( 1592 ) 7 Co. Rep. 15b Jump up ^ Wheals, Brian Brenchley ( 1984 ). Theirs Were But Human Hearts : A Local History of Three Thameside Parishes. H.S. Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 0 - 9509053 - 0 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Windsor Swan Upping ceremony cancelled due to flooding ''. BBC News. Norman Frederic Ticehurst, The Mute Swan in England : Its History, and the Ancient Custom of Swan Keeping ( 1957 ). External links Media related to Swan Upping at Wikimedia Commons The Royal Windsor website The official British Monarchy website - Swan Upping Vintners ' Company website Swan Upping at Cookham Royal ceremonies of the British monarch State State Opening of Parliament Coronation State Funerals Pricking Kissing hands Social Trooping the Colour Remembrance Day Royal Maundy Garden Parties Garter Day Traditional Swan Upping Investiture of the Prince of Wales Related Vigil of the Princes Changing of The Queen 's Guard Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swan_Upping&oldid=830122661 '' Categories : British monarchy Swans Culture associated with the River Thames English traditions Ceremonies in the United Kingdom July events Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from November 2017 Use British English from November 2017 Talk About Wikipedia Magyar Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 12 March 2018, at 21 : 51. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who do all the swans in england belong to
Answer: the British Crown