Published: Saturday, 24th July, 2010 4:22pm

Fine day for the upper classes

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THE royal tradition of swan upping floated its way through Windsor this week.

David Barber, the Queen's Swan Marker, is leading the flotilla of six rowing skiffs up the Thames for his annual count of the number of young cygnets.

The second day of the five-day, 79-mile journey began at Eton on Tuesday morning.

The Queen's, Vintners' and Dyers' Livery Companies were accompanied by the Queen's Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, who assisted in ringing, weighing and assessing the cygnets.

Swan upping dates from the 12th century, where the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans - an important food source for banquets at the time.

Although the birds are no longer eaten, the Crown retains this right today, but it is mainly exercised on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries.

Last year, the Queen witnessed swan upping for the first time.

The upping counted 27 families of swans including 87 cygnets in 2009. On Tuesday, Mr Barber said they had counted about 20 cygnets already.

He said: "It's been a very good year so far, much better than two years ago, when we had to deal with the flooding and all the nests washed away.

"Previously, we've seen a swan with a badly-injured leg, and a young cygnet with a pull-tab ring around its beak, but we haven't had any of those disasters yet.

"We'll see about 120 this year if we're lucky, the records are looking pretty good."

On Tuesday, the swan uppers also stopped at Oakley Court, where Mr Barber held an educational talk for students from Hilltop, Oakfield First and Kings Avenue schools.