LONDON − It was a celebration almost fit for a king. All 150 of them.
The human with whom they share a name may have been the headliner on the road at Westminster Abbey, where King Carlos III was crowned on Saturday in a luxurious ceremony along with Queen Camilla.. But it was dogs like Timmy, Buddy and dozens of other Cavalier King Charles spaniels who tried to parade down London’s King’s Road as part of a coronation street party who stole the show.
It was not raining heavily. It was a bit rainy. Most of the dogs didn’t care.
They were mostly unfazed by the stripes of red, white and blue pennants, street performers, food stalls, a metal drum band, kids loosely clutching Union Jack flags, and a few drunken celebrants of the variety. two-legged The dogs proved they weren’t just floppy-eared toys or bed warmers for noble lords and ladies.
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Although they did unleash some bite-sized anarchy because, well, dogs.
There was 2-year-old Toffee, ruby in color, wearing a golden crown that was slipping off her head.
He had to be carried most of the way by his owner Bibi Tukentahi, 19, a college student at a veterinary school.
Tukentahi said that Toffee was not happy about the rain. Normally, on a Saturday, he would be chasing squirrels in the park. “I wanted to be part of this historical event and what better way than to have a dog with you.”
There was Machi, another 2-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She was wearing yellow rubber boots. She had recently cut her foot and her owner, Kit Law, who works for Britain’s Home Office, did not want her to repeat herself.
“He likes food, running after balls, standard dog stuff,” said Law, 42.
Machi is a chestnut and white color, “Blenheim” in the world of Cavalier King Charles.
It had a lot to say in the form of a piercing screech and bark.
‘Here lies Jack, King Edward’s favorite Irish Terrier’
Royals and their dogs have been around for a long time.
When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840Eos, their greyhound, joined them for the honeymoon.
King Edward VII preferred terriers, in particular a dog named Jack.
“Here lies Jack, King Edward’s favorite Irish terrier who only lived twelve hours after arriving in his homeland,” reads his epitaph. Jack died suddenly during a visit to Ireland in 1903.
Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’s late mother, was a devoted corgi fan.
On her 18th birthday, they gave her Susan, from whom all subsequent corgis she bred descended. She also bred so-called “dorgis”, a cross between a dachshund and a corgi.
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King Charles’ favorite dog breed is the Jack Russell, originally bred for fox hunting. Two of them, Bluebell and Beth, live with him and the queen consort at Buckingham Palace.
According to the royal kennel club of Great Britain, which claims to be the world’s oldest organization dedicated to canine affairs such as breeding, training, show, dog welfare, the King Charles spaniel and its cousin the Cavalier King Charles spaniel date back at least to the century XVI.
Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled from 1558 to 1603, was reported to have had a “gentle spaniel”.
some historians I believe that when Charles I was executed in 1649 during the English Civil War, his black and white spaniel, Rogue, was by his side. When his son, Charles II, was later restored to the throne, he rarely went anywhere without a pack of spaniels in tow. They were probably at his bedside when he died.
‘They are the most feline of dogs’
Back on the King’s Road, the parade didn’t go exactly as planned.
“They are the most catlike of dogs,” said Candace Queathem, one of the Event organizersof the spaniels.
“But don’t quote me on that,” he laughed.
Then Queathem strode down the King’s Road to prepare the dogs for the start of the march.
The order lasted for about a block.
Then because of the rain, the crowds and, well, the dogs again, the parade descended on a lot of dogs doing a lot of different things. Two, with royal red velvet robes draped over their backs, snarled at each other. Another, with big sad eyes, flinched as he was pushed in a pram. Some stopped to urinate. Another pulled its owner in the direction of a nearby blond Labrador retriever, who was not part of the parade.
“This is my second coronation,” said 84-year-old Tony Hunt, who watched warily as the scene unfolded.
He was standing on a street corner in the long scarlet coat proudly worn by Chelsea Pensioners, a nursing home associated with the Royal Hospital Chelsea for ex-members of the British Army.
“I remember the last time, when I was 14, just like that, standing in the rain and looking at that,” he said, referring to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, which took place in 1953.
Hunt then looked at some of the spaniels.
“I’m not sure if I would call them dogs,” he said. “They are too small.”
