"If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it" So says the prophecy allegedly given by a soothsayer in the 17th Century when Charles II tried to remove the ravens from the Tower of London, where they had resided since the 13th Century. They have been protected by a Royal Decree for the last 400 years, and there is never to be less than 6 ravens at the Tower at a time. The Ravens have their wings clipped so they cannot fly away. Their favourite spot is Tower Green, next to the White Tower, the place where people like Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were beheaded. They are cared for by a Ravenmaster, and they even have their own Raven Cemetery located in the now drained moat with a headstone naming all the ravens that have passed away since 1956. 4 x 6 inches, watercolor and gouache, 2008