R is for Ravens

There is a superstition that states that if the Tower of London's six ravens are lost or fly away, "the Crown will fall and Britain with it". Undoubtedly, this is just a piece of British legend - the Tower's official historian has himself stated that the "tower's raven mythology is likely to be a Victorian flight of fantasy".

According to that legend, they have kept ravens here ever since the reign of Charles II - and reportedly against the wishes of the king's astronomer at the time, John Flamsteed, who complained the ravens impeded the business of his observatory in the White Tower. (The Observatory was subsequently moved to Greenwich.)

Nevertheless, the modern-day Beefeaters are not taking any chances. As of 2018, the names of the current Tower ravens are Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin, Poppy and Merlina. There are seven ravens at the Tower - the required six, plus they keep one as a spare! Their wings aren't clipped - the Tower's Ravenmaster occasionally trims some of the ravens' primary and secondary flight feathers to encourage them to stay at the Tower. All the ravens are thus able to fly but are happy to call the Tower their home. The ravens are free to roam the Tower precincts during the day and can be seen during the tour of the building.