7 Royally Screwed-Up Facts About the Royals That Are Sadly the Royal Truth

And just for good measure: royal
7 Royally Screwed-Up Facts About the Royals That Are Sadly the Royal Truth

Its common knowledge that if you go looking through laws and rules of the past, youre going to find some weird stuff. It was a different world back then, one where sticking an ice cream cone in your back pocket was a way to steal horses

When you couple the natural weirdness of yore with something as inherently complicated as the British Royal Family? Youre guaranteed to end up with some rules and details that are as puzzling as they are built on pomp and circumstance.

Here are seven totally strange, but totally true facts about the royals…

They Can t Eat Shellfish

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This rule comes from Britains reticence to entrust their rulers fate to the quality of a given batch of oysters. Shellfish — and its risk for food poisoning or other foodborne illness — has taken it permanently off the royal menu. Which makes you wonder if theyre also forbidden from enjoying some late-night Taco Bell.

Two Direct Heirs Can t Fly Together

Another rule borne from keeping their monarchs safe is that two direct heirs are never allowed to fly on the same plane, so as to avoid a king-sized Day the Music Died scenario. A weird, further wrinkle caused by this is that when an heirs child turns 12, theyre forced to fly solo, no parents allowed.

The King or Queen Has No Passport or Driver s License

This one only applies to the head honcho, and is an interesting outcropping of clerical impossibility. Because drivers licenses and passports are issued in the King or Queens name, they aren't able to issue one to themselves. Not that theyre in particular danger of being forced to identify themselves. They also dont need to pass a driving test, so its probably a good thing that theyre usually in the back seat.

They Celebrate Two Birthdays

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Another complication that might make their official documents difficult to fill out, if they had them, is their birthday. Thats because the King or Queen have two birthdays in the eyes of the Crown. First, the one they were actually born on, and their “official” monarchical birthday. Double the gifts, or blood tributes, or whatever it is they demand come birthday time!

They Can t Give Autographs

Similarly related to the power royals legally hold, its a bit understandable that theyre forbidden from signing autographs. Unfortunately for the unadorned face of your King Charles rookie card, the risk of forgery prevents them from handing out their John Hancock.

They Have Handshake Training

Given that their biggest responsibility is, as far as I can tell, wandering around and smiling at people, its important that theyre trained in proper greetings. This extends to their handshakes, which they're trained in to make sure the recipients feels they got the grip befitting a royal. If you want to experience one, though, youll have to hope its offered, as youre never supposed to be the initiator of such an important handshake.

They Own Most of the Swans in England

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Possibly the strangest and fakest sounding bit of trivia about the royals is that the King or Queen owns every swan in England. Is it actually true? Well, sort of. 

The basis for the widespread swan ownership is very real. Dating back to when swans were considered highly luxurious animals and food, leading to rampant swan theft, their ownership needed legal clarification. So it was established that the King or Queen had an innate claim to any mute swan (a specific variety) living in open waters

Is it impossible to own a swan if youre not a monarch? No, but theres a chance they could decide to claim your long-necked friend.

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