Happy International Dogs Day!

When the general public thinks about the British Royals & dogs, they usually think about the Queens Corgi's first but the Royal Families love of dogs goes far beyond just one breed!

Here is a (brief) history of the modern BRF & their BFFs

Queen Elizabeth II & Corgi's

It wouldn't be a proper blog about the Royals and their dogs if we didn't start with Queen Elizabeth II and her beloved Corgis! Since the Queen and her Corgi's are so famous, this is definitely the Royal breed we have the most information on.

So, if we want to be technical, then the Queen actually didn't only have corgi's throughout her reign; she also had dorgi's (a cross between a dachshund and a corgi) but it was very well known that the Queens favorite breed were her Corgi's. Queen Elizabeth grew up with Corgi's since she and her sister took to the breed after meeting the Marquess of Baths corgi's when they were children.

The Queen's first corgi was bought in 1933 by her father, the then Duke of York (later King George VI) and was named Dookie. While Dookie was technically the family dog, it is said that Elizabeth was especially fond of them. Dookie's full name was Rozavel Golden Eagle which later matched his sisters name who was the familys second corgi, Rozavel Lady Jane. Lady Jane was bred with Rozavel Tafferteffy (which is not the last of the Rozavel named pups for the royals) and they produced Carol and Crackers. Crackers became the Queen Mothers constant companion, even retiring to Scotland with her.

Image Credit: BBC

Perhaps the most famous of the Queens corgi's would be Susan, who was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II on her 18th birthday. The majority of the Queen's corgi's throughout her lifetime were descended from Susan. Susan had Sugar and Honey then Sugar had Whisky and Sherry while Honey had Bee which marked the first three generations of the Queens Corgi's. Bee went onto have Buzz, Heather, and Foxy. Heather had Tiny, Pickles and Tinker (Pickles and Tinker were Dorgis). Foxy had Mask, Cindy, Rufus, and Brush.

From there, the family line gets a little bit more challenging to follow but I'll do my best to summarize and hopefully the family tree helps to clarify if you are confused. Descendants of Brush included Shadow, Fable, Myth, Kelpie, Fay, Mint, Phoenix, Pundit, Jolly, Chipper, Sweep, Piper, Socks, Blackie, Geordie, Smoky, Spark, Ranger, Diamond, Apollo, Harris, Dash, Disco, Dipper, Dawn, Dime and Rush.

The line continued from Rush whose descendants include Flora, Minnie, Windsor Quiz, Emma, Dagger, Dipper, Jay, Martin, Plover, Wren, Linnet, Rose, Laurel, Larch, Jasmine, Holly, Cedar, Bramble and finally Willow who was the very last descendent of Susan. The BBC does note that not all the Queens Corgi's were registered so it is possible that there were more branches to the family tree than this.

King Charles III & Queen Camilla

While Charles has not been quite as loyal to a single breed as his mother was, Charles & Camilla have had multiple dogs throughout the years. Obviously, Charles grew up with Corgi's but he did not continue the tradition his mother started.

Charles has favored terriers, specifically Jack Russell Terriers, throughout his life but he has also had Labradors, English Foxhounds, and they now have a Lagotto Romagnolo. Some of King Charles most notable dogs included Harvey who was a yellow lab that the King had during his twenties.

While raising his sons, Charles had two Jack Russell Terriers named Tigga and Pooh. Charles even had a willow sculpture monument built for Tigga at Highgrove after they passed in 2002 at the age of 18. Most recently Charles and Camilla had two Jack Russell Terriers named Beth and Bluebell who they rescued from one of Queen Camilla's patronages, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Unfortunately, Beth passed away in November 2024 at the age of 13 reportedly due to in an inoperable tumor. Subsequently, Camilla and Charles rescued another Jack Russell Terrier named Moley in early 2025 from Battersea.

Around the same time that they rescued Moley, Charles and Camilla also welcomed Snuff, a Lagotto Romagnolo. It is the first (known) time that Charles has had the breed which is known for hunting Italian truffles, making their name especially fitting.

The Prince and Princess of Wales

While both William and Catherine grew up with dogs (William had Jack Russell Terriers and the Middletons had Tilly, a Golden Retriever), they have exclusively had English Cocker Spaniels since their marriage in 2011.

Their first dog, Lupo was bred from a dog belonging to Catherines parents, Carole and Mike Middleton. Lupo was often seen in official portraits of the family and could be spotted on walks or going to Polo matches with the family. It was evident that he was a very beloved dog to the family and William and Catherine shared their heartbreak with an Instagram post when Lupo passed away in November 2020.

Before Lupo's passing, the Wales family welcomed their second Spaniel who was born in May 2020. She was named Orla and was a gift to the family from Catherines brother, James (who is a massive dog lover and animal welfare and mental health activist). Orla has been spotted in portraits with Princess Charlotte and seen in videos of the family released through the years.

In 2025, Orla had a litter of puppies that William and Catherine introduced to the world on Prince William's 43rd birthday. The following year they revealed they had kept one of the puppies who is named Otto.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have three dogs at home currently. They have two black Labradors named Teal and Teasel, and a black Cocker Spaniel named Mole. Not a lot is known about the Edinburghs dogs beyond that but it is well known that the Duchess of Edinburgh is a massive Dog Lover

Sophie serves as patron of Guide Dogs (who help train dogs for the blind), and the Yellow Labrador Club. She has also made visits to Dogs for Autism and the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society to meet with puppies in training.

Have Questions or want to learn more about some other royals and their dogs? Leave a comment below or visit my instagram or twitter!

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