Is falconry a royal hobby?

Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural habitat and stay by means of a trained bird or prey.  The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird also is called "hawking".  Falconry is an art. It requires long hours, constant devotion, finesse, subtlety and skill.  The falconer must train a bird of prey to fly free, hunt for a human being and then  accept a return to captivity. 

Falconry was just not a hobby. It was a lifestyle. Falconers must devote time to their birds each and every day. It must be no surprise that  falconry has a long and royal history just as horse riding. In many countries owning a falcon was and is a status symbol. 

Some history of Falconry

Medieval sports were chances for men to practice their mental and physical skills. However falconry also was practiced by women. 

Royals and Falconry

Bahrain

Emir Isa bin Salman al Khalifa of Bahrain and his family owned the Sulman Falcon Centre. The royal family can afford their own well-trained falcons.

Bohemia

King Ottokar II of Bohemia was a falconer too. Village Sokolec was founded during his reign, the name means this village served as a centre for royal  falconer. 

Burgundy

Mary, duchess of Burgundy liked to be outside, to ride on a horse and to do the falconry.

China

Early records mentioned that falcons were a royal gift during the Shang Dynasty in China. 

Dubai

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the ruler of Dubai is said to participate in falconry. He is pictured with a beautiful bird. 

It was Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of  Dubai who introduced in 2002 a "new" sport to the Arab world:  falcon racing. 

In 2004, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current president of the  United Arab Emirates, installed a falcon racing tournament with even a larger price. 

France

In the 12th century the author Marie de France used hawking in a love themed story, in which a knight changed himself in a hawk to visit his imprisoned lady in her tower. 

"Grand Falconer of France" was a position in the King's Household from the Middle Ages till the French Revolution. It first appeared around 1250. 

In the 17th. century King Louis XIII kept 300 birds. During the reign of King Louis XIV of France the function Grand Falconer of France was more a honourable title as the King had stopped hunting by birds. However falcons were still gifted to the King at Versailles. 

Germany

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is the author of a book about falconry.  This book was called: The art of hunting with birds. He maintained up to 50  falconers at his court. His son Manfred - the later King of Sicily - also was a keen falconer. 

Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Brandenburg - Ansbach (1707-1738) paid at least 50 falconers! His expenses for falconry caused nearly a bankruptcy of his Margraviate of Baden. 

Hungary

The history of Hungary begins with falconry. The Turul is a mythological bird, mostly depicted as a hawk of a falcon in Hungarian and in Turkish tradition as well. It is a national symbol of the Hungarians. Turul means in Hungarian one Kind of Falcon. It was used by the ruling

House of Árpád. 

India

Famous explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton wrote an account about falconry in India: Falconry in the Valley of the Indus. It was first published in 1852.  Nowadays it is banned in India. 

Moravia

When Svatopluk I of Moravia (871-894) went hunting, his falcons accompanied him too. 

picture provided by Lisi @EmpressofHab

Ottoman Empire

The sultans of the Ottoman Empire loved falconry and they would often bring their birds on campaign with them, hunting and hawking for leisure between battles. 

Saudi Arabia

In 2017, a Saudi Prince bought airplane seats for his birds. It still is a popular  sport among the royalty in Saudi Arabia. Link to travellers magazine.  In December 2019, an annual King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival was installed and held near Riyadh. More about the festival on this link. 

Spain

It was said that Queen Isabella of Spain liked all aspects of hunting including falconry. 

UNESCO has listed falconry as cultural heritage in Spain. See this link 

United Kingdom

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) would have liked playing chess, backgammon, horseback riding, sewing, embroidery and diary writing. However she also loved falconry.  In medieval England, the function Master of the Mews was created especially to look after the falcons of the King. 

King Edward III (1312-1377) of England had 30 falcons with him at the time of the invasion of France.  The Book of St Albans was originally published in 1486, only a year after King Richard III's death at the Battle of Bosworth. It details the pursuits of gentlemen of the aristocracy and goes into great detail about hunting, fishing, heraldry and of course falconry. 

King Richard III was likely a keen falconer much like the other members of the royal Family at the time. 

To conclude

Nowadays falconry is permitted only in 12 states of USA and falconers have to meet strict federal standards because animal rights activists and some environmentalists condemn falconry. 

As said before: in India Ministry Forests and Environment does not permit falconry as it affects the wild population of birds used for falconry.  Anyway I'm glad that falconry is not the royal hobby anymore. 

A big thank you!

I want to say a big thank you to Lisi @EmpressofHaB for her research (Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary .... ) and providing me the picture of King Svatopluk of Moravia. Thank you very much. You can find her site on this link. 

Source pictures: Wikipedia

Source picture: King Svatopluk of Moravia: Lisi @EmpressofHab.