We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Girl asks Queen's permission to keep swan as a pet
Image source, Leon Neal/Getty Images
Five-year-old Lyndsay wrote to the Queen to ask if she could keep a swan as a pet for the weekend, and the palace has replied!
Lyndsay loves swans and sent a letter to the Queen after her mum told her that the Queen owns all of the swans.
She asked if she could borrow a swan for the weekend and promised she would look after it and keep it in the bath.
A spokesperson from Buckingham Palace wrote back to explain that people often think the Queen owns all swans, but it's actually not true!
Her Majesty owns swans called mute swans on certain parts of the River Thames.
Image source, Leon Neal/Getty Images
As as a thank you for her letter, the palace sent Lyndsay, from Petersfield, Hampshire, a booklet on swan upping - a ceremony involving the Queen's swans.
Swan Upping
Each year the royal birds are counted and checked to see if they're healthy.
The number of new baby swans, called cygnets, is recorded to see how well the population is doing.
They also mentioned that swans are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which probably means they can't be kept in a bath!