The Royal Family-approved dog breeds: ‘Princess Margaret had Sealyhams delivered with breakfast’

She was a vision in blue velvet and the late Queen’s aquamarine and diamond tiara, which she wore for the first time. Camilla does not just share Elizabeth II’s jewels, however; both have devoted time and love to canine companions. As such, Camilla has been left heartbroken after her rescue dog, which she adopted from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, was put down after being diagnosed with an untreatable tumour.

Buckingham Palace posted on social media alongside a montage of images of the Queen’s pet: “A sad farewell to Beth, the Queen’s much-loved companion… who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties or curled up by the fire.”

The touching moment does shine a spotlight on one charming element of The Royal Family, however; their individual love of specific dog breeds. From Princess Margaret’s specification that her two Sealyhams, Johnnie and Pippin, should be delivered to her bedroom each morning with her breakfast tray, to the Queen’s world-famous coterie of Corgi’s — here are the royal’s favoured pets. 

Is there a more iconic pairing than the late Queen Elizabeth II and her pack of loyal corgis? In her lifetime she owned more than 30 (with fabulous names including Cider, Rum, Berry, Brandy, Chipper, Harris, Pickles, Piper, Tinker and Vulcan.)

The first came when the Queen was just seven years old, and her father King George VI welcomed Dookie to the household. While the Windor’s had historically leant towards shih tzus and labradors, young princesses Elizabeth, and her sister Margaret, had enjoyed playing with a Pembroke corgi owned by the children of Viscount Weymouth and asked for their own.

On Elizbeth’s 18th birthday, in 1944, she received Susan the corgi — who would go on to be the matriarch of a long line of royal corgi successors. Susan even joined the Queen and Prince Phillip on their honeymoon in 1947.

Then came the dorgis. This supposedly occurred when Princess Margaret’s dachshund, named Pipkin, mated with one of the Queen’s corgis, Tiny, producing the beloved royal dorgi, Candy, who spent a loyal 18 years by the monarch’s side. It was the Queen’s final heartbreak when Candy died just months before her, in 2022.

She was survived by two corgis, Sandy and Muick, which were bought for her by Prince Andrew after the death of her husband, and are looked after by Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

In the 1950s, Princess Margaret was besotted with a pair of Sealyham terriers, a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier. It is said that she required her two Sealyhams, Johnnie and Pippin, were be brought to her bedroom every morning along with her breakfast tray. One fabulous portrait, by Cecil Beaton, sees her posing with a Sealyham. She also owned dachshunds, famously Pipkin, who fathered Candy, the Queen’s first dorgi, as well as a a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Rawley.

The loss of Queen Camilla’s Jack Russell, Beth, was announced this week — however the King and Queen still own Bluebell, Beth’s comrade, who was also adopted from Battersea Cats and Dogs home, a year after in 2012.

“Along I went to Battersea, and Beth appeared and she had just been moved from pillar to post and dumped,” the Queen has said. “We thought it would be nice for her to have a friend. They found [Bluebell] two or three weeks later wandering about in woods, no hair on her, covered in sores, virtually dead. And they nursed her back to life and her hair grew again. She’s very sweet, but a tiny bit neurotic, shall we say.”

King Charles has long been a fan of Jack Russells, which were bred in the 19th century to hunt foxes above and below ground. Famously, 1994 saw news break of the then Prince Charles’ lost terrier Pooh, in the woods at Balmoral. He was never found.

Pooh was followed by Tigga, who lived to a great 18 years old, took a leading role at polo matches and featured on family Christmas cars, and was put down in 2002 due to old age. Charles was said to be “very sad” following Tigga’s passing. The pooch lives on through a commemorative sculpture by artist Emma Stothard, however, who crafted the Jack Russell from willow for Charles’ country house, Highgrove Gardens. Any devoted fans can purchase their own Tigga sculpture for £955, highgrovegardens.com.

“The nice thing about dogs is you can sit them down, you could have a nice long conversation, you could be cross, you could be sad and they just sit looking at you wagging their tail,” Queen Camillia reflected, on Radio 5 Live.

Princess Anne loves her Bull terriers, but they certainly have a history of keeping her occupied. In an invariably dramatic sequence of events, she wound up as the first royal in more than a century to attend court, where she was found guilty under the Dangerous Dogs Act after her dog Dotty bit two children in Hyde Park in 2002. Another, Florence, was blamed for attacking one of the Queen’s corgis, Pharo, in 2003, which later had to be put down due to the injuries sustained.

The Prince and Princess of Wales currently own one Cocker Spaniel named Orla, which was a gift from Catherine’s brother James Middleton in 2021. Middleton has been outspoken about his love of the breed this year, publishing a book dedicated to his late spaniel entitled Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life. Prince William even let slip that he and Kate allow Orla to cuddle with them in bed at night.

Orla came after the family lost their cocker spaniel Lupo in 2020, whom they adopted in 2011, and became a star in his own right thanks to his appearances in a number of royal photographs, including the first official portraits of Prince George.

The York sisters love Norfolk terriers, and the family at large currently owns a pack of four — Jack, Cici, Teddy, and Ginger. There was a fifth, named Orange, who sadly died in 2019 after being poisoned by a plant in Windsor Great Park. Prince Andrew and his ex-WIfe Sarah Ferguson also look after the Queen’s remaining corgis, Sandy and Muick.