One of the ravens of the Tower of London, the conspiracy of birds whose fate is said to be intertwined with that of Britain, is missing and feared dead, the royal palace said Thursday.
“We have some really unfortunate news to share,” the tower announced on its website, referring to the missing corvid as “Queen of the Tower Ravens.” “Our beloved Raven Merlina has not been seen in the Tower for several weeks and her continued absence indicates that she has sadly passed away.”
Ravens are native to the area and can grow to over two feet in length with a wingspan of up to 51 inches. According to folklore, if there are less than six ravens left to guard the tower, both the kingdom and the land will collapse.
But Yeoman Warder Ravenmaster Chris Skaife, who looks after the birds, assured the concerned Britons already battered by the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit divorce that the country was safe – for now.
“Clearly my concern as a ravenmaster is the concern of the kingdom,” he told BBC Radio.
“But we have seven ravens here in the Tower of London, six by Royal Decree, and of course I have one left, so we’re fine right now.”
The decree, reportedly issued in the 17th century, stated that there must be six on site at any one time. The tower’s website states that the ravenmaster trims the flight feathers of the large black birds “to encourage them to stick to the tower.”
Skaife told AFP in an interview last October that he usually keeps two as “spare parts,” “just in case,” and that Merlina was his favorite.
Merlina, described by the tower as the “undisputed ruler of the sleeping place,” was last seen a few weeks ago in the historic palace on the River Thames.
Photo by TOLGA AKMEN / AFP via Getty Images
“Just before Christmas, before we entered lockdown, we were putting the ravens to bed, and she didn’t come back,” Skaife said.
He described Merlina as a ‘free-spirited raven known to leave the Tower district on many occasions’.
However, he added, “Normally she comes back to us, but this time she didn’t, so I’m afraid she’s not with us anymore.”
Merlina became an internet favorite of Skaife’s frequent posts and videos of her on his Instagram and Twitter accounts, which have more than 120,000 followers.
The seven remaining captive ravens in the tower are Poppy, Erin, Jubilee, Rocky, Harris, Gripp and George. The tower’s website notes that ravens are intelligent birds with different personalities who can mimic sounds, play games, and solve problems.
Skaife, a former staff sergeant and drum major with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, faced an unprecedented challenge to entertain the Tower’s celebrated bird dwellers during last year’s coronavirus lockdowns.
The birds suddenly found that there was no one to play with – or to rob food. He feared the birds would fly off to look for food elsewhere.
Photo by TOLGA AKMEN / AFP via Getty Images