Swan Upping

origins and royal rights

Since the twelfth century, the English monarch has held the legal right to claim all unmarked mute swans swimming in open waterways. In earlier eras, the sovereign occasionally shared these privileges with landowners and select institutions. Today, only two London guilds, the Vintners and the Dyers, retain these ancient entitlements alongside the monarch, who bears the historic title of Seigneur of the Swans. While the ceremony once focused entirely on dividing bird ownership among these three parties, its primary role today centres on conservation, counting the swan population, and monitoring bird welfare.

the river voyage

The event spans five consecutive days, taking crews upstream in wooden rowing skiffs from Sunbury toward Abingdon. The royal team wears scarlet tunics featuring the reigning monarch's cypher, while oarsmen from the Company of Watermen and Lightermen row the official Marker of the Swans. When adult swans and their broods are sighted, the rowers surround the birds and carefully lift them from the water. Each cygnet is weighed, measured, and checked for injuries before being returned safely to the river with its family.

tracking and ringing

Young birds are assigned ownership based on the lineage of their parents. Historically, officials carved small cuts into the beaks of birds to identify them, creating a single notch for the Dyers or two notches across the bill for the Vintners. This ancient practice inspired the historic tavern name The Swan with Two Necks. In modern times, harmless metal bands have replaced bill marks entirely. Crown birds receive an identification ring registered with the British Trust for Ornithology, while guild swans receive a corresponding band on the opposite leg.

How Swan Upping is kept

Officials and crews set out in rowing skiffs across a five-day route along the Thames. Spotting swan families along the riverbanks, rowers carefully corral the birds and lift them aboard. Handlers assess each cygnet, measuring its size, checking its weight, and looking for signs of disease or injury. Based on the mother and father, each young swan is assigned to the monarch or one of the two participating guilds. Handlers then attach lightweight tracking bands to the birds' legs before releasing the entire brood back into the water.

When and where

The ceremony happens annually during the third week of July. It runs across five consecutive days as the rowing crews travel upstream along their designated route.

Swan Upping takes place in England on the River Thames. The rowing expedition travels upstream, covering the stretch of water between Sunbury and Abingdon.

What Swan Upping means

The custom represents the continuous link between the Crown and English wildlife heritage. By upholding the monarch's ancient role as Seigneur of the Swans, the ceremony maintains centuries of civic and royal tradition while transforming medieval ownership rights into a practical commitment to river stewardship and bird health.

Questions people ask about Swan Upping

See also

Trooping the ColourThe annual British military parade marking the official birthday of the monarch.Waitangi DayNew Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Saint David's DayThe national feast day of Wales, marked with parades, poetry contests and daffodilsDamba festivalA Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and dance

Good reading and sources

• Windsor Swan Upping ceremony cancelled due to floodingBBC, Article
• Swan upping: Royal cygnet numbers drop by 40% in a yearBBC, Article
• Windsor Swan Upping ceremony cancelled due to floodingBBC, Article
• Swan upping: Royal cygnet numbers drop by 40% in a yearBBC, Article

• Swan upping on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.