Five-year-old girl writes to the Queen asking if she can ‘borrow’ one of Her Majesty’s swans for the weekend

When you’re a five-year-old who is desperate for a pet swan to keep in your bathtub, what else can you do when mum tells you the Queen owns them all?

You write to Her Majesty of course, asking to borrow one for the weekend!

Well, at least that’s what Lyndsay Simpson did, after mum Jennifer Bax tried to tell her why she couldn’t keep the elegant bird as her pet.

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“My daughter Lyndsay has always loved swans and she has always asked me if we could have one,” Jennifer, 35, told The Times.

“I told her the Queen owns them, and she suggested that if she wrote her a letter she might let her have one for the weekend,” she added.

But neither Lyndsay nor Jennifer expected to hear back from Buckingham Palace and were thrilled when the youngster received a reply in the post a few weeks later.

Jennie Vine, a deputy correspondence co-ordinator at the palace told Lyndsay the Queen has taken “careful note” of her request but contrary to popular belief, she doesn’t in fact own all of these majestic birds.

The idea that the Head of State owns all the swans in the UK is a commonly held belief that dates back centuries but the theory has been quashed by this letter.

Jennie tells Lyndsay: “Her Majesty owns mute swans and only exercises her right of ownership over swans on certain parts of the River Thames.”

While it’s not exactly known what the Queen thought of Lyndsey’s idea to keep her pet swan in the bathtub, the five-year-old got a gentle reminder that the birds are under protection and need to be treated with care.

However, Lyndsay is still ready and waiting to Swan-sit whenever the Queen needs it.

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