Royal pets: From King Charles’ Jack Russell to George V’s sweary parrot and the Queen’s corgis… after monarch adopts chickens

The royals are known for their love of keeping animals, and King Charles has recently added to the long list of royal pets.

He has adopted 31 new feathered friends from a charity that re-homes commercial laying hens.

Queen Victoria had a beloved Collie named Sharp who supported her through the loss of her husband Prince Albert.

Queen Camilla has two rescue Jack Russell Terriers – Beth and Bluebell – who have accompanied her on official engagements.

And King George V kept a parrot named Charlotte who would even eat at the dinner table.

Read below to find out more about the Royal Family‘s beloved pets.

Peggy the Shetland pony

The late Queen Elizabeth II had a strong passion for all things equine from a young age.

She received a Shetland pony named Peggy as a fourth birthday present from her grandfather, King George V.

The young princess was pictured riding the horse while her father, who would go on to be King George VI, stood holding the rein. 

Elizabeth went on to own hundreds of racehorses and rode regularly all her life. 

Her horses won more than 1,600 races, netting her upwards of £7million in prize money. 

Guy the Beagle

Meghan Markle’s beloved Beagle, Guy, came with her when she moved to the UK and and lived in Kensington Palace in 2017.

He’s been by the royal’s side since she adopted him while still living in Toronto, when she starred in Suits.

The pooch had been just days away from being put down after being found wandering in the woods in Kentucky in 2015 before Meghan gave him a home.

Days before Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018, it was reported that a dog looking remarkably like Guy was seen riding in a car with the late Queen to Windsor.

King George V’s parrot 

King George V acquired an African Grey in an Eastern port when he served in the Royal Navy and the bird soon became part of the family. 

Named Charlotte, the feathered pet would sit at the dinner table – despite Queen Mary’s disapproval – and was talkative.

The parrot could apparently say, ‘God Save the King’, as well a several rude words.

Queen Elizabeth played with the bird when she was a young girl and even fed her sugar lumps. 

A few weeks after the King’s death, the Mail reported how Charlotte would ask, ‘where’s the Captain?’, whenever anyone entered his study at Buckingham Palace. 

Elizabeth’s fell pony Balmoral Fern 

One favourite horse of the Queen’s in later life was her fell pony, Balmoral Fern.

During the coronavirus lockdown in 2020, the monarch – then 94 – rode the animal at Windsor

The horse was named after her beloved Scottish residence, where she died aged 96 in September 2022. 

Queen Camilla’s Jack Russell Terriers

Queen Camilla’s pooch Beth arrived at Battersea Dogs and Cats home in London in 2011 and was adopted by the royal at 12 weeks old. 

The Mail reported at the time how Camilla had fallen in love with the Jack Russell after she saw a photo of her in an email. 

She then went on to adopt Bluebell the following year.

The pair have joined Camilla at engagements, including a visit to the rescue shelter that Beth was originally from.

Camilla previously had a Jack Russell called Freddy, who lived to be 21 years old.

He was so adored by her family that her son Tom Parker Bowles named his own son after him.  

The Queen’s corgis

Queen Elizabeth kept corgis for most of her life and was first introduced to the breed when her father bought the Princess and her younger sister Princess Margaret a Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi named Dookie when she was seven.

For her 18th birthday, Elizabeth was gifted Susan, a corgi who was so loved by the monarch that she even accompanied her and Prince Philip on their honeymoon in 1947.

She owned more than 30 dogs during her life and was often pictured on royal tours with them. 

Her Majesty’s pups had a luxury diet of fillet steak and chicken breast cooked by a chef.

After the Queen’s death in September 2022, two of her corgis, Muick and Sandy, were brought out of Windsor Castle to watch the passing of her funeral cortege.

Kate and William’s dog Lupo

Prince William and Princess Kate were given Lupo, a cocker spaniel, as a wedding present when they married in 2011.

Lupo was bred from a dog which was owned by Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton. 

He would go on to meet all three of the couple’s young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. 

Lupo had pride of place when William and Kate released a photo of them holding newborn George in the garden of the Middleton family home in Berkshire.   

The dog passed away in 2020 after around nine years with the family.

The couple adopted another dog, Orla, from Kate’s brother in 2021.

Jack Russell Tigga

Aside from his new hens, King Charles is known to have a particular fondness for Jack Russell terriers.

He had one, named Tigga, for more than 18 years and the pooch grew up with Prince William and Prince Harry. 

Tigga was given to him by garden designer Lady Salisbury and featured on many royal Christmas and birthday cards.

The beloved was put down in 2002 after a long-term illness, and the King had a willow sculpture of him put up in the grounds of Highgrove House as a memorial.

Queen Victoria’s Collie 

Queen Victoria loved animals too and had a particular soft spot for her Collie, Sharp. 

She is believed to have found consolation in the loyal dog’s presence after her husband, Prince Albert, passed away in 1861.

Photos show her cradling the dog as she wears elaborate mourning dress.

Zara Tindall’s horse High Kingdom

Like many members of the Royal Family, Zara Tindall also has a love for horses. 

She won a silver medal in the three-day equestrian event at the 2012 London Olympics, riding 11-year-old High Kingdom.

She missed out on the 2004 Athens games and Beijing 2008 due to injuries but made up for her past absence when the competition came to England. 

Zara, who is believed to own four horses, balances looking after her three children with competing.