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Premieres 23 October 2026 at 6pm UK time
The Old Fox's Library · Episode 4
Were the Tower ravens a Victorian invention?
Legend says if the ravens leave the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall.
The Ravenmaster, the blood-soaked biscuits, the raven sacked for wrecking TV aerials, the first chicks in 30 years, and why the kingdom's ancient guardians may be younger than the railway.
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What the fox said
Pull up a chair. Tonight's page: the ravens of the Tower of London.
Legend says if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Tower will crumble and the kingdom fall with it.
So the Tower keeps at least six ravens, plus a spare or two, just in case.
They answer to the Ravenmaster, a Yeoman Warder who keeps them fed, healthy and at home.
Supper is raw meat, mice and chicks, with a treat of biscuits soaked in blood. Proper villain's cooking.
Their flight feathers are trimmed now and then. They can still fly; they simply tend to stay.
Popular tale says King Charles the Second ordered them protected after his astronomer complained. Lovely story. Probably not true.
Historians find no clear record of ravens at the Tower before the late eighteen hundreds. The legend may be a Victorian invention.
In 1986, a raven named George was sacked for wrecking television aerials. Conduct unsatisfactory.
Merlina, queen of the ravens, vanished in the winter of 2020. The kingdom held.
In 2019, a pair called Huginn and Muninn hatched four chicks, the first born at the Tower in 30 years.
Here's one to keep: the kingdom's ancient guardians may be younger than the railway. Clever birds.
Close the book. Keep your nose to the wind.
Sources
- Legend says that if the ravens leave the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall (Historic Royal Palaces; Wikipedia, 'Ravens of the Tower of London').
- At least six ravens are kept at the Tower, plus spares; there were seven in 2020–21 and eight in May 2025 (Historic Royal Palaces; ianVisits, 2025).
- The ravens eat raw meat, mice and chicks, with biscuits soaked in blood as a treat; some flight feathers are occasionally trimmed, but all the ravens can fly (Historic Royal Palaces).
- The popular tale that Charles II refused to remove the ravens has no supporting evidence and is probably not true (JSTOR Daily, 'Fakelore: the Tower ravens', on Boria Sax's research; Wikipedia).
- There is no clear record of ravens at the Tower before the late 19th century, and the Tower's historian Geoffrey Parnell called the legend likely 'a Victorian flight of fantasy' (JSTOR Daily; Wikipedia; ianVisits; Stuff About London).
- A raven called George was dismissed on 13 September 1986 for destroying TV aerials, his record reading 'Conduct unsatisfactory, service therefore no longer required' (Historic UK; Wikipedia).
- Merlina, nicknamed the 'queen' of the ravens, went missing around Christmas 2020 and was presumed dead; in 2019 four chicks hatched at the Tower, the first born there in 30 years (NBC News; Live Science; ITV News; Smithsonian Magazine).
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