Noble Hounds and Dear Companions
Over 150 photographs of the canine companions of the Royal Family
Over 150 affectionate, amusing and often wholly unknown images of the canine companions who have played a role in both the public and private lives of the Royal Family, from Queen Victoria to the present day.
Hardback, 209 x 210 mm
ISBN 978 1 902163 85 7
Please note, due to the publication date this catalogue may contain outdated terminology. Updated object records can be viewed on Collection Online.
Among the many treasures of the Royal Photograph Collection at Windsor Castle is a small album made for Queen Victoria and entitled The Property of the Queen – Photographs of Dogs in the Royal Kennel, Windsor. Taking this as its starting point, this charming book brings together over 150 affectionate, amusing and often wholly unknown images of the canine companions who have played a role in both the public and private lives of the Royal Family, from Queen Victoria to the present day.
With the advent of photography, proud owners could record their favourite pets at work, rest and play. In this book, dogs take centre stage – riding in carriages, on board the royal yacht, on guard duty at Windsor Castle and in the arms of monarchs, consorts, princes and princesses. There are pugs and Pomeranians, dachshunds and greyhounds, spaniels and Labradors. There are Queen Victoria’s beloved collies, Sharp and Noble. There is Spot the fox terrier, ‘snapped’ in 1883, while apparently smoking a pipe; and Sammy the poodle, demonstrating his acrobatic skills at Sandringham in 1895. There is King Edward VII’s beloved if disreputable Caesar, who was allowed to walk behind his master’s coffin in the funeral procession; and Looty, probably the first Pekingese in Britain, who was brought here from the Forbidden City.
Paintings and works of art from the Royal Collection complete the story, and the book is brought up to date with the famous Welsh corgis – such as Dookie, Her Majesty The Queen’s first corgi, and Susan, from whom all of The Queen’s corgis are descended.
Sophie Gordon is Head of Photographs, Royal Collection Trust. Her other publications include Cairo to Constantinople: Francis Bedford's Photographs of the Middle East, The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography and Shadows of War: Roger Fenton's Photographs of the Crimea, 1855.
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