Queen Elizabeth II owns every dolphin in Britain and doesn't need a driving licence

Queen Elizabeth II is not like you and me.

Did you know she is immune from prosecution? That she has her own personal poet, paid in Sherry wine? Or that she holds dominion over British swans and can fire the entire Australian government?

It's true that her role as the British head of state is largely ceremonial, and the Monarch no longer holds any serious power from day to day. The historic "prerogative powers" of the Sovereign have been devolved largely to government ministers. But this still means that 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 still wields some of these prerogative powers herself — as well as numerous other unique powers, ranging from the surprising to the utterly bizarre.

Most famously, she owns all swans in 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 tributaries," according to the official website of the Royal Family.

Today this tradition is observed during the annual "Swan Upping," in which swans in the River Thames are caught, ringed, and set free again as part of census of the swan population.

It's a highly ceremonial affair, taking place over five days. "Swan uppers" wear traditional uniforms and row upriver in six skiffs accompanied by the Queen's Swan Marker.
"The swans are also given a health check and ringed with individual identification numbers by The Queen's Swan Warden, a Professor of Ornithology at the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology," according to the Royal Family website.

The Sovereign also has dominion over all dolphins in British waters.

"Rule, Britannia, Britannia rules the waves," goes a classic British song — and this rule extends beneath the waves, too. The sovereign has dominion over a variety of aquatic animals in British waters.

The Queen still technically owns all the sturgeons, whales, and dolphins in the waters around England and Wales, in a rule that dates back to a statute 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 'fishes royal': when they are captured within 3 miles (about 5 km) of UK shores or wash ashore, they may be claimed 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 its 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. The Scottish government also issued guidance on the law in 2007, writing that "the right to claim Royal Fish in Scotland allows the Scottish Government (on behalf of the Crown) to claim stranded whales which are too large to be drawn to land by a 'wain pulled by six oxen.'"

The Queen can drive without a licence.

Driving licenses are issued in the Queen's name, yet she is the only person in the United Kingdom who doesn't legally need a license to drive or a number plate on her cars, according to Time.

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

Queen Elizabeth II isn'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 prince 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 ignition 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."

Cowper-Coles continued: "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 implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead."