The ravens famous down the centuries as guardians of the Tower of London have been busy hatching chicks while the rest of us have been in lockdown.
Legend has it that The Tower and the kingdom would fall if the ravens ever leave.
But they aren’t going anywhere while it’s closed to the public, now that three chicks have been born, spending their first two weeks under the watchful eye of Beefeater Ravenmaster Chris Skaife.
“The ravens have given us some much-needed good news,” Yeoman Warder Skaife said. “The raven bloodline is secure, which is good for the Kingdom!”
They are the offspring of Huginn and Muninn, named after the ravens of the Norse god Odin, and will quadruple in size over the coming weeks with a delicious diet of rats, mice and other meats. Their black plumage will soon appear, with their beaks turning jet black in a year.
Six ravens are traditionally kept as “a insurance policy” after King Charles II was warned by a soothsayer that the Crown would fall if they flew off.
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