I hate to have to be the one to break it to you, but the queen mother passed on some years ago.
The queen legally owns some 'Mute' swans, so if someone snaffled a Whooper, then an act of outrage against the monarchy wouldn't have taken place. They're still protected mind, so the wildlife crime bods would show an interest.
Do you eat them in France?
In this country we hold them in some sort of mystical high regard - if there was one standing on the railway line at Euston station, everything would stop until some unfortunate individual had wrestled it over the boundary!
This particular Swans nest is in the flight pond that is mentioned in the thread on Hunting And Fishing (I know lets build a bridge) also on the Island is a fallen Ash tree that will soon be receiving the attention of a couple of chainsaws. On Sunday I called in at my chum Chris's wood to pick up my saw bench to make a much needed repair only to discover that a Field Maple had blown down and was blocking a public right of way. Chris being away on an Easter Break I had a word with his boss and she agreed it would be a good idea to clear the right of way. I was more than happy to do so, knowing that a some of the wood will end up in my log store.
Three hours later:
PS.... Christel you knew logs would feature somewhere in this post............ Yes?
I used to see a few of these snakes at the Carp syndicate I was on in Lincs. Very nice to watch them swimming around and I tried to catch a few to have a closer look but was never successful.
Theres a lot down Cambridge way too :)