Day 1 of the annual Swan Upping on the River Thames between Laleham and Staines.
Swan Upping dates from medieval times, when the Crown claimed ownership of all
mute swans at a time when swans were considered an important food source for
banquets and feasts.
Today, the Crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked Mute swans
in open water, but the Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches
of the River Thames and its surrounding tributaries.
This ownership is shared with the Vintners' and Dyers' Companies, who were
both granted rights of ownership by the Crown in the fifteenth century.
Nowadays, the swans are counted and marked, but rarely eaten except
perhaps occasionally at State Banquets.
The Queen's Swan Marker and Swan Uppers, accompanied by the Swan Uppers
of the Vinters' and Dyers' livery companies use six traditional Thames
rowing skiffs in their five day journey upstream as far as Abingdon.
By tradition, scarlet uniforms are worn by The Queen's Swan Marker
and Swan Uppers, and each boat flies their appropriate flags and pennants.