London: British police are investigating the killing and apparent barbecuing of one of Queen Elizabeth's swans.

The bird was butchered, burnt and stripped of its flesh before the carcass was dumped on a riverbank near Windsor Castle, west of London, police and an animal charity said on Wednesday.

All wild mute swans in Britain are considered the property of the crown and it is an offence to kill one.

Animal charity worker Wendy Hermon said she felt "sick" when she found the bird on Sunday.

"It was just a carcass, it was all burnt. We could see that whoever did this had taken the breast out," said Ms Hermon, who works for the charity Swan Lifeline, which cares for sick and injured birds.

"It was done neatly, presumably to get at the meat. They had skinned it as well and possibly barbecued it there, on a disposable barbecue."

AFP