Theravens of the Tower of London are a group[a] of at least six captiveravens (eight in 2025)[3] resident at theTower of London.[4] Their presence is traditionally believed to protectthe Crown and the Tower; a belief holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it."[4] Local legend puts the origin of the captive raven population at the time of KingCharles II (reigned 1660–1685). Some historians however, including the Tower's official historian, believe the "Tower's raven mythology is likely to be aVictorian flight of fantasy".[5] The earliest known reference to captive ravens at the Tower is an illustration from 1883.[6]
Historically, wild ravens were common throughout Britain, even in towns; the Tower was within their natural range. When they were eliminated from much of their traditional range, including London, they could only exist at the Tower in captivity and with official support. The Tower ravens are tended to every day by theRavenmaster of theYeomen Warders heading a team of Yeoman Warders known as Ravenmaster's assistants.[7] Some of the ravens at the Tower were specially bred inSomerset.[1][8]
The earliest legend that connects the Tower with a raven is theeuhemerised Welsh tale of thewar against the Irish leaderMatholwch who had mistreated the princessBranwen. Branwen's brotherBrân the Blessed (King of the Britons) ordered his followers tocut off his head and bury it beneath the "White Hill" (upon which the Tower now stands) facing out towards France as a talisman to protect Britain from foreign invasion.[6]
Brân is the modernWelsh word for raven and the magical and protective qualities of ravens are attested throughoutCeltic mythology. The knowledge that Brân's head was buried beneath the White Hill would have served as protective reassurance in the Celtic tradition, just as modern ideas about the presence of ravens does. As such, it is likely to have its origins inBritish folklore.[9]
Sir George John Younghusband wrote that at the execution ofAnne Boleyn in 1536, "Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene. A Queen about to die!"[11] According to American authorBoria Sax, the ravens of the Tower behaved much worse during the execution ofLady Jane Grey: in 1554, "pecking the eyes from the severed head" of the queen.[12]
In his article "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London", Boria Sax came to the conclusion that "the ravens were originally brought in to dramatise the alleged site of executions at the Tower".[12]
One legend attributes the start of the tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings in the Tower of London to Charles II and to his royal astronomerJohn Flamsteed, although there are versions of the legend that differ in their details.[13] According to one legend, John Flamsteed complained to Charles II that wild ravens were flying past histelescope and making it harder for him to observe the sky from hisobservatory in the White Tower. Flamsteed requested that the birds be removed, but Charles II refused to comply with this request.[12][13]
Another variation of this legend says that it was Charles II himself who disliked the wild ravens' droppings falling onto the telescope. The conversation with his astronomer that supposedly followed decided the fate not only of the ravens, but also ofGreenwich, where theGreenwich Observatory was commissioned by the King in 1675. In this version of the legend the King complained:
"These ravens must go!" he said. "But, Sire, it is very unlucky to kill a raven," replied Flamstead, "If you do that the Tower will fall and you will lose your kingdom, having only just got it back!" Charles, being a pragmatist, thought for a moment and said: "The Observatory must go to Greenwich and the ravens can stay in the Tower."[12]
Yet another legend attributes the appearance of ravens in the Tower to theGreat Fire of London in 1666. Wild ravens, as well aspigs andkites, were the biggestscavengers inmedieval London.[14] Allegedly after the fire, survivors started persecuting ravens for scavenging, but Flamsteed explained to Charles II that killing all ravens would be a badomen, and that the kingdom would not outlive the last killed raven. Charles II then ordered six birds to be kept at the Tower.[15]
Ravens are native to Britain (and most other parts of theNorthern Hemisphere), although in recent times breeding populations are mostly restricted to the wilder western upland areas of the British Isles.[16] Ravens were common in London and other urban areas across Britain for centuries, because until the 16th century, they lived in close proximity to people as well as in wild areas; ravens were welcomed in towns because their scavenging habits of feeding helped keep the streets clean.[17][18] However, in later years wild ravens were viewed as a threat to livestock, and during the 19th century they were eliminated in many urban areas by systematic hunting and shooting.[18] The last time ravens nested in the wild in London was inHyde Park in 1826, but theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds reported in 2004 that ravens had been observed nesting in theHome Counties around London, as close as 30 miles (48 km) from the Tower.[19]
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The first two known depictions of ravens in the Tower of London both date from the year 1883. One is in a special edition of the newspaperThe Pictorial World and the other is from the children's BookLondon Town,[20] written by Felix Leigh and illustrated by Thomas Crane and Elizabeth Houghton.[21]: 50–53
Sax found the one early mention of importation of captive ravens in the 1918 bookThe Tower from Within byGeorge Younghusband. Younghusband stated that the ravens were provided by the4th Earl of Dunraven (1841–1926). The second Earl of Dunraven had been a patron of the druidic scholar, poet, and forgerIolo Morganwg, who convinced the family that their castle in Glamorgan had been the original residence of the raven-godBran, actually an early king. The Earls may have thought of the ravens as avatars of Bran, and wished to assert a spiritual claim over the Tower.[21]: 36–40
Geoffrey Parnell, the official Tower of London historian and a member of theRoyal Armouries staff, considers the purported ancient history of captive ravens at the Tower to instead be a legend invented during theVictorian era. During Parnell's research, despite the superstition that the Crown depends on the continued presence of the ravens, "[he] has found the blunt statement in the records 'there are none left' – and yet the monarchy and the tower have more or less survived".[5] This alludes to a period right before the reopening of the Tower after World War II, when the only surviving ravens, the mated pair Mabel and Grip,[b] disappeared from the Tower, perhaps eloping to a nearby wood. The story of their escape appeared in several local American papers.[21]: 80–84
Parnell has stated that the first captive ravens may have been introduced to the Tower aspets of the staff. AfterEdgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", anarrative poem inspired by the talking raven inCharles Dickens'sBarnaby Rudge, was first published in January 1845, the Western world became fascinated with the birds.[5][23]
Japanese novelist and scholarNatsume Sōseki visited the Tower in 1900. He wrote an account published in 1906 reporting a total of six ravens at the Tower as a central focus during and following an execution at the site. It was noted, however, that Sōseki's writing style "blends fantasy, history, and present experience".[24]
The first reference to an early version of the legend that Britain will fall if the ravens leave the Tower comes from July 1944, when ravens were used as unofficial spotters for enemy bombs and planes duringthe Blitz ofWorld War II.[21]: 62–73 During the Blitz, all but three of the ravens died from either bombing or stress; the survivors were Gripp, his mate Mabel and another raven named Pauline.[25] Mabel and Gripp soon "disappeared", however.
After this,Winston Churchill, then prime minister, ordered more ravens to bring the flock back to the correct size. The Tower ravens are enlisted as soldiers of the Kingdom and were issuedattestation cards in the same way as soldiers and police. As with soldiers, they can bedismissed forconduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.[14][26]
Today the Tower's ravens are one of the attractions for tourists visiting theCity of London.[5] However, visitors are advised not to feed the birds and warned that a raven will bite if it feels threatened.[13]
Since 1987, the Tower ravens have been the subject of a successfulcaptive breeding programme. For example, over time, 17 chicks were successfully hatched and raised by a pair of ravens known as Charlie and Rhys.[4]
In 1995, raven Charlie startled abomb-sniffing dog, and the dog grabbed the raven with his mouth. According to a police spokesman, "the bird probably died of shock".[27]
While visiting the Tower in 2003,[28]Vladimir Putin, thePresident of Russia, is reported to have been taken aback by the verbal skills of one of the birds; Thor greeted each person in his entourage with a "Good morning!".[29]
During theglobal spread of H5N1 virus ("bird flu") in 2006, the ravens of the Tower were taken inside and lived in "custom-built aviaries".[30]
Raven Jubilee was presented to the Queen to mark theDiamond Jubilee in 2012, and later released in the Tower, bringing the total number to eight.[8] Throughout history, three of the Tower's ravens have been named after Charles Dickens's talking pet ravenGrip (the basis for a character of the same name in his 1841 novelBarnaby Rudge), the latest in 2012.[31]
In May 2013, two Tower ravens were killed by ared fox that managed to infiltrate the grounds, the only fox attack inside the walls ever recorded. This reduced the raven population to the minimum number of six.[32] Upgraded security measures were included in the plans for a major refurbishment of the raven accommodations, funded by the independentHistoric Royal Palaces organisation.[32]
Appointed in 2011, former RavenmasterChristopher Skaife was caring for seven of the birds in 2018.[33] He reduced the amount of clipping of the wings and feathers by a third to allow the ravens to fly, instead of merely hopping or gliding. He allowed one of the birds, Merlina, to fly to the wharf on the Thames, but she always returned due to her bonding with her keeper.[34] During Skaife's tenure, only one raven, Muninn, escaped, but was captured by a member of the public.[33]
OnSaint George's Day (23 April) 2019, four chicks were hatched from ravens Huginn and Muninn (named afterOdin's mythical ravens), the first to do so at the Tower since 1989. One of the chicks remains at the Tower and has been named Georgie, in reference to the date the hatching began.[35][36]
On 31 January 2021, the Tower of London announced that Merlina, known as "Queen of the Tower Ravens",[37] had not been seen at the Tower grounds for several weeks, leading the Ravenmaster to believe she has died. A statement released on Twitter reads:[38]
We now have 7 ravens here at the Tower – one more than the required 6, so we don't have any immediate plans to fill Merlina's vacancy. However in time we hope that a new chick from our breeding programme will be up to the formidable challenge of continuing her legacy.
In March 2021, it was announced that two raven chicks were born to the Tower's breeding pair, Huginn and Muninn. The male of the pair was given the name 'Edgar' after Edgar Allan Poe.[39] A public vote was announced to decide on the name of the female in the pair in time for the reopening of the Tower to the public on 19 May 2021.[40] The names available to vote on include Matilda, Branwen, Brontë, Winifred and Florence.[41] The winner was Branwen.[42]
In March 2024, Skaife retired as the Ravenmaster and he was succeeded byBarney Chandler as the new Ravenmaster.[43][44]
in May 2025, two raven chicks, Henry and Poe, joined the current ravens, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Chaos, and Jubilee, at the Tower. Henry is named after various royal Henrys, and Poe is named afterthe author of "The Raven".[45][3]
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The ravens cannot fly far because theflight feathers on one wing areclipped. With a single wing clipped, they can only fly short distances to perch. Otherwise, asBoria Sax writes,tongue-in-cheek:
The ravens are now treated almost like royalty. Like the Royals, the ravens live in a palace and are waited on by servants. They are kept at public expense, but in return they must show themselves to the public in settings of great splendour. So long as they abide by certain basic rules, neither Royals nor ravens have to do anything extraordinary.If the power in question is political and diplomatic, the Royals now have hardly more than the ravens. But the word "power" here can also mean the aura of glamour and mystery which at times envelops both ravens and monarchs.[21]: 17
Each Tower raven has a differentcoloured band on one leg, to make it easier to identify individual birds.[46] Ravens in captivity in the Tower grounds have had lifespans of more than 40 years.[47]
The Tower's ravens are given individual names, and are all under the care of theYeomen Warders. The diet of the ravens is carefully maintained. Their diet consists of raw meat daily, usually liver, lambs' hearts and beef or pork trimming, and every other day includes boiled egg with shell and blood-soaked bird biscuits. Occasionally, rabbit parts with fur are added for roughage. Once a week the birds are given a thorough check-over, and once every third week thelifting feathers on their right wings are trimmed to prevent them from flying away.[48]
Londoners tend to be fond of the ravens, but sometimes an individual bird will fall out of favour because of inappropriate behaviour. For example, "Raven George" lost his appointment to the Crown, and was retired toWales for attacking and destroyingTV aerials. A special decree was issued about the incident:
On Saturday 13th September 1986, Raven George, enlisted 1975, was posted to theWelsh Mountain Zoo.Conduct unsatisfactory, service therefore no longer required.[46]
In 1996, two more ravens fell out of favour and were dismissed from the Tower for "conduct unbecoming Tower residents."[49]
Despite having their flight feathers clipped on one wing, sometimes the Tower ravensdesert their duties. In 1981, Grog the raven decided to leave the surroundings of the Tower for those of apub, after 21 years of faithful service to the Crown.[13] In contrast, a raven named Mabel was kidnapped from the Tower soon after World War II, a mystery that has never been solved.[4]
Another story concerns the two ravens named "James Crow" and "Edgar Sopper". James Crow, who was a much-loved and long-lived raven, had died. After noticing the commotion surrounding the other raven's death, Edgar Sopper decided he could "play dead" in order to bring more attention to himself. His trick was so convincing that the ravenmaster fully believed that Edgar Sopper had died. When the ravenmaster picked up the "corpse", Edgar bit the man's finger and "flapped off croaking huge raven laughs".[26] Likewise, "Merlin" has since been known for eliciting a commotion from visitors by occasionally playing dead.[50]
In 1990, a chaplain named Norman Hood died in his chamber on the Tower grounds. Former Assistant Ravenmaster Tom Trent has reported that the ravens appeared to be aware of the death, for they soon gathered on the Tower Green near the chapel, called out, and then became quiet, as though to pay their respects.Corvids have been widely reported to hold "funerals", in which they mourn and then cluster around a dead bird in silence.[21]: 103
When she's bored, Merlin plays with the tourists. She'll act dead, [...] lying on her back, feet in the air, until they scream and panic and run for help.
Media related toRavens at the Tower of London at Wikimedia Commons