The Queen , as well as owning a honestly obscene turn of diamond lid , technically ownsall the unmarked swans in England . Not satisfied with being able to claim any swan she fancies ( picture her in a swan boat pointing at a swan and enounce " that swan is mine " ) , she also have a circle of other fine dame , include the famous ravens at the Tower of London .
One of them , constitute Merlina , has been missing for several weeks , prompting fright of her death . It ’s high-risk news show for razz fan , but also tough news for the UK , if folklore is to be believed ( and it is n’t ) .
" We have some really unhappy news to partake in . Our much - make out raven Merlina has not been visit at the Tower for several weeks , and her continued absence seizure indicates to us that she may have sadly passed away , " the Tower of Londonwrote in a Twitter screw thread .
" Though it is n’t unusual for our ravens to wander outside the walls , free - spirited Merlina has previously always returned to the Tower and to the Ravenmaster and his team , with whom she shared a wonderfully skinny bond . "
So far , so heartbreaking . Something that catch people ’s eyes , however , was the Tower ’s talk of raven vacancies .
" We now have 7 Corvus corax here at the Tower — one more than the required 6 , so we do n’t have any immediate plans to meet Merlina ’s vacancy . "
What is the deal with being required to have 6 ravens in the tug at all meter ? Well , if you ever chit-chat the tower , you will in all probability be told that during the sovereignty of Charles II he clip their wing after he had heard an " ancient " prophecy that the Kingdom will fall if the birds were ever to leave the tower .
The caption goesthat " for many centuries , Corvus corax have ward the Tower of London and , since they are say to hold the power of the Crown , it is believed that the Crown and the Tower will fall , if ever the raven should leave . "
Though that all sounds quite fun , according to historian Bora Saxthe legend appears to have amount about in that superstitious time of around 1946 , a few years after the microwave oven oven was invented . Ravens were used as ( unofficial ) picket during the war , for opposition plane and turkey . concisely before the tower re - opened in January 1946 , some of the birds escaped , prompt new ravens to be espouse in metre for opening mean solar day .
American papers short thereafter took a few familiarity with the story , adding in the fable for spice , before the story was picked up again by English papers , secure it as an ancient legend that really begin in January .
