It&apos；s true that Queen Elizabeth II as the British head of state is largely ceremonial， and the Monarch no longer holds any serious power from day to day. But when the British government declares war， or regulates the civil service， or signs a treaty， it is doing so only on her authority. And she also wields1） some of the prerogative2） powers herself—as well as numerous other unique powers， ranging from the surprising to the utterly bizarre. The following are four weird powers of Queen Elizabeth II.

She owns all swans on the River Thames.

Technically， all unmarked swans in open water belong to the Queen， though the Crown "exercises her ownership" only "on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries3），" according to the official website of the Royal Family.

Today this tradition is observed4） during the annual "Swan Upping"， in which swans on the River Thames are caught， ringed5）， and set free again as part of a census6） of the swan population.

It&apos；s a highly ceremonial affair， taking place over five days. "Swan uppers" wear traditional uniforms and row upriver in six skiffs7） accompanied by the Queen&apos；s Swan Marker.

"The swans are also given a health check and ringed with individual identification numbers by The Queen&apos；s Swan Warden， a Professor of Ornithology8） at the University of Oxford&apos；s Department of Zoology，" according to the Royal Family website.

She also has dominion9） over all dolphins in British waters.

The Queen still technically owns all the sturgeons10）， whales， and dolphins in the waters around the UK， in a rule that dates back to a statute11） from 1324， during the reign of King Edward II， according to Time.

According to the article： "This statute is still valid today， and sturgeons， porpoises， whales， and dolphins are recognised as &apos；fishes royal&apos；： when they are captured within 3 miles （about 5 km） of UK shores or wash ashore， they may be claimed12） on behalf of the Crown. Generally， when brought into port， a sturgeon is sold in the usual way， and the purchaser， as a gesture of loyalty， requests the honour of it being accepted by Elizabeth."

The law is still observed： In 2004， a Welsh fisherman was investigated by the police after catching a 10-foot sturgeon， the BBC reported at the time.

She can drive without a licence.

Driving licenses are issued in the Queen&apos；s name， yet she is the only person in the United Kingdom who doesn&apos；t legally need a license to drive or a number plate on her cars， according to Time.endprint

Despite not being required to have a license， the Queen is comfortable behind the wheel13）， having learned to drive during World War II when she operated a first-aid truck for the Women&apos；s Auxilary Territorial Service. （As a result of the Queen&apos；s training， she can also change a spark plug， Time notes）.

Queen Elizabeth II isn&apos；t afraid to show off her driving skills， either. In 1998， she surprised King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia （then still a prince） by driving him around in her country seat of Balmoral.

Former British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles recounted the meeting in the Sunday Times： "As instructed， the crown prince14） climbed into the front seat of the front Land Rover， with his interpreter in the seat behind. To his surprise， the Queen climbed into the driving seat， turned the ignition15） and drove off. Women are not—yet—allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia， and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman， let alone a queen. His nervousness only increased as the Queen， an army driver in wartime， accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads， talking all the time. Through his interpreter， the crown prince implored16） the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead."

She has two birthdays.

When you&apos；re the British head of state， one birthday just isn&apos；t enough. The Queen&apos；s official birthday is celebrated on a Saturday in June17）， though her actual birthday is on April 21.

"Official celebrations to mark a sovereign&apos；s birthday have often been held on a day other than the actual birthday， particularly when the actual birthday has not been in the summer，" according to the Royal Mint.

Both birthdays are celebrated in suitable style， too. Her actual birthday "is marked publicly by gun salutes18） in central London at midday，" according to the official website of the British Monarchy.

For her "official" birthday celebrations， she "is joined by other members of the Royal Family at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade， which moves between Buckingham Palace， The Mall19）， and Horseguards&apos； Parade."

英國女王伊麗莎白二世作為英國元首基本上是禮儀性的，這是事實。隨著時光流逝，皇室不再掌握重權(quán)，這也不假。但是當英國政府要宣戰(zhàn)、制定行政法律或是簽訂條約時，都要有女王的授權(quán)才能執(zhí)行。而且，女王還親自行使著一些特權(quán)，以及許多獨一無二的其他權(quán)力，其中有的令人大吃一驚，有的則十分怪異。下面就是英國女王伊麗莎白二世的四項另類特權(quán)。

泰晤士河上所有的天鵝都歸女王所有。

理論上，開闊水面上所有沒有標記主人的天鵝都是屬于女王的，雖然據(jù)皇室官方網(wǎng)站報道，女王陛下只針對“泰晤士河的某些水域以及周邊的支流行使她的所有權(quán)”。

如今一年一度的“數(shù)天鵝”活動就遵循了這一傳統(tǒng)。在該活動中，人們抓住泰晤士河的天鵝，給它們套上腳環(huán)再放飛，以此作為普查天鵝數(shù)量的部分工作。endprint

這項活動非常正式，耗時超過五天。參加“數(shù)天鵝”活動的工作人員身著傳統(tǒng)制服，劃著六只小艇，在女王天鵝標記官員的陪同下來到河上游。

“人們還會對天鵝進行健康檢查，由女王的天鵝守護長——來自牛津大學動物學系的一位鳥類學教授——給它們套上標有各自身份號碼的腳環(huán)?！被适夜俜骄W(wǎng)站報道說。

女王還擁有英國水域

所有海豚的所有權(quán)。

根據(jù)《時代周刊》報道，依據(jù)一項法規(guī)，理論上女王還擁有英國周圍水域內(nèi)所有的鱘魚、鯨魚和海豚。該項法規(guī)可以追溯到1324年國王愛德華二世統(tǒng)治時期。

根據(jù)該文章報道：“這項法規(guī)至今仍然有效，而鱘魚、鼠海豚、鯨魚和海豚都被視為‘皇家魚類，如果這些魚在英國海岸周圍三英里（約五公里）內(nèi)被捕到，或被沖到海岸上后被捉到，就可能會被皇室宣示所有權(quán)。一般來說，被帶到港口的鱘魚可以進行常規(guī)買賣，而購買者為了表示忠誠，需要向皇室請求殊榮，得到女王對這場交易的許可?！?/p>

這項法律仍被人們所遵守：2004年，威爾士的一個漁民在捕到一條十英尺長的鱘魚后遭到了警方的調(diào)查，當時BBC還對此事進行過報道。

女王無需駕照就能開車。

根據(jù)《時代周刊》的報道，駕照是以女王的名義頒發(fā)的，但女王是英國境內(nèi)唯一無需駕照就能合法駕車的人，她的車也無需車牌號。

盡管英國女王不需要駕照，但她開起車來還頗為怡然自得，因為她在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間就學會了開車，當時為婦女支援服務(wù)隊開過急救卡車。（據(jù)《時代周刊》指出，因為受過訓練，女王還會更換火花塞。）

伊麗莎白二世也無懼于展示她的車技。1998年，她駕車帶著沙特阿拉伯國王阿卜杜勒（當時他還是個王子）繞著她的鄉(xiāng)間宅邸巴爾莫勒爾莊園兜了一圈，把他給嚇了一跳。

在《星期日泰晤士報》的報道中，前英國大使謝拉爾德·考博·科爾斯講述了當時的那場會面?！斑@位王位繼承人遵照指令坐到了路虎的副駕駛座上，他的翻譯坐在了后座上。令他吃驚的是，女王坐上駕駛座，發(fā)動了汽車，就把車開走了。在沙特阿拉伯，女性還不允許開車，而且阿卜杜勒也不習慣坐女士開的車，更別說開車的是位女王了。他越來越緊張，因為戰(zhàn)時曾是軍隊駕駛員的女王開著路虎，沿著狹窄的蘇格蘭莊園小路一路加速，嘴里還一直說個不停。王子殿下通過翻譯不斷懇求女王降低車速，把精力集中到眼前的道路上?！?/p>

她有兩個生日。

倘若你是英國元首，那過一個生日可是不夠的。女王的官方生日在6月的一個星期六慶祝，盡管她真正的生日是4月21日。

“通常情況下，對君主生日的官方慶祝與君主的實際生日并非同一天，特別是當實際生日不在夏天的時候。” 英國皇家鑄幣局如是說。

這兩個生日都以適當?shù)男问郊右詰c祝，從英國皇室官方網(wǎng)站上可以看到，“慶祝女王真正的生日是在眾人矚目下于正午時分在倫敦市中心鳴放禮炮慶祝?！?/p>

而在官方的生日慶典中，女王會和其他皇室成員一起參加盛大的皇家軍隊閱兵儀式，被檢閱的軍隊將會行進于白金漢宮、林蔭路和皇家騎兵衛(wèi)隊閱兵場之間。

1. wield [wi?ld] vt. 運用，行使（權(quán)力）

2. prerogative [pr??r?ɡ?t?v] adj. 特權(quán)的；行使特權(quán)的

3. tributary [?tr?bj?tri] n. 支流

4. observe [?b?z??v] vt. 遵守，奉行（法律、習俗等）

5. ring [r??] vt. 為（鳥類的主爪部）套環(huán)

6. census [?sens?s] n. 人口普查

7. skiff [sk?f] n. （常指單人的）小艇，小船

8. ornithology [???n??θ?l?d?i] n. 鳥類學

9. dominion [d??m?ni?n] n. 控制；統(tǒng)治（權(quán)）；支配（權(quán)）

10. sturgeon [?st??d??n] n. 鱘

11. statute [?st?t?u?t] n. 法令；法規(guī)

12. claim [kle?m] vt. 宣稱所有權(quán)

13. behind the wheel： 開車

14. crown prince： 王位繼承人

15. ignition [?ɡ?n??n] n. （汽車里的）點火開關(guān)

16. implore [?m?pl??（r）] vt. 懇求；乞求；哀求

17. a Saturday in June： 確切來說，伊麗莎白二世的官方生日是在六月的第二個星期六。英國君主的官方生日一般都是被設(shè)定好的，每個君主的官方生日可能不同，但大多都在夏天五月底六月初，因為英國常常陰雨連綿，而六月的天氣比較好，適合慶祝。

18. gun salute： 鳴槍禮炮，在進行重大慶典時的一種慶祝行為。

19. The Mall： 林蔭道，倫敦中心綠樹成蔭的一條道路，位于城中兩大著名地標建筑特拉法加廣場（Trafalgar Square）和白金漢宮（Buckingham Palace）之間。endprint