The tradition of marking newborn swans goes back six centuries, when most of the swans on England's public waters were owned by the Queen. Every year since 1363, the Queen's swan master and the swan wardens of the two livery companies row up the Thames, starting at Blackfriars and continuing upstream to Abingdon, and "up" all the swan families into the boats, where they are marked with identification numbers. There are very specific rules governing how ownership is decided, and the six boats, each flying a large silk flag, form a procession that has changed little over the centuries. Discussfrom Today's Holiday http://ift.tt/2te02b1
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