After the death of the Queen of England, people around the world are discussing: How much inheritance did the "wealthy" queen leave for Charles after all?

However, besides money, properties, lands, and jewelry, common things that everyone can think of, the queen also left a special "heirloom" to Charles - swans.

The British royal family has a long tradition of inheritance, and there are many peculiar traditions. The ownership of swans in Britain belongs to the royal family.

Every year, there are special personnel responsible for counting them. The royal activity of counting swans on the river is called "Swan Upping". It is said that it not only means lifting swans, but also elevating their status.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Queen of England was once the monarch with the most swans in the world. According to the "Right of Swans" of the British royal family, all unmarked mute swans in public waters belong to the King or Queen of England. For this reason, the royal family has also established a series of positions related to swans: the Queen's Swan Marker, Swan Uppers, and the Royal Swan Warden.

Why does the queen have so many "swan friends"? This dates back to "800 years ago". In 1230, King Henry III of England issued a decree that designated a portion of the Thames River's swans as belonging to the royal family. The king happened to take a liking to swans, not some strange personal preference, but because in medieval Europe, swans were recognized as noble poultry, just like lions, tigers, and leopards to the Saudi royal family.

In her research work, Professor Katie Barnett of the University of Melbourne wrote that in the Middle Ages, owning swans was a symbol of social status - only members of the royal family and extremely wealthy dignitaries could raise swans. Initially, the British royal family classified swans as royal birds, not for viewing, but as delicious poultry for consumption.

However, over time, such elegant and magnificent birds were always killed for meat, eventually leading people to think it was uncivilized and damaged elegance. Therefore, a king at that time ordered that all swans resting on British rivers be confiscated by the royal family, and anyone who dared to kill them without authorization would be convicted of a felony.

Since then, the royal family has specifically entrusted the task of managing and guarding swans to two special royal service companies, the Vintners Company and the Dyers Company. These two companies replace the royal family each year to count the number of swans within their jurisdiction on the Thames River.