Queen Victoria's pets

Victoria’s Favourite Pets, painted by Al in 1841, shows the spaniel Dash, Lory the parrot, the greyhound Nero and deerhound Hector.^[1]

Wednesday 18 May 1836

Dear Uncle Ernest made me the present of a most delightful Lory, which is so tame, that it remains on your hand, & you may put your finger into its beak, or do any thing with it without its ever attempting to bite. It is larger than Mamma's Grey Parrot, & has a most beautiful plumage; it is scarlet, blue, brown, yellow & purple.

Queen Victoria's journal (18 May 1836)

Queen Victoria and her close family kept numerous pet animals, including:

• Fatima – a Pug
• Alma – a Shetland pony given by King Victor Emmanuel^[1]
• Dandie – a Skye Terrier^[1]
• Dash – a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel^[1]
• Eos – a greyhound which Prince Albert brought from Germany^[1]
• Flora – a Highland pony given by King Victor Emmanuel^[1]
• Goats – Mohammad Shah Qajar, the Shah of Persia, presented Queen Victoria with a pair of Tibetan goats upon her accession to the throne. From these, a royal goat herd was established at Windsor. Goats from this herd were then used as regimental mascots by regiments such as the Royal Welch Fusiliers.^[2]
• Nero – a greyhound^[1]
• Islay – a Skye terrier.^[1] Victoria owned Islay for five years and he died after losing a fight with a cat.^[3]
• Jacquot – a donkey^[1]
• Unknown name – a lory^[1]
• Looty – one of the first Pekingese in Britain, stolen from the Xianfeng Emperor of China, from his Chinese Summer Palace, during the Second Opium War^[4]
• Marco – a small spitz which was the first of her many Pomeranians.^[5]
• Hector – a deerhound^[1]
• Noble – the Queen's favourite collie.^[1] A statue by Princess Louise is in Osborne House.^[6]
• Picco – a Sardinian pony^[1]
• Sharp – a collie^[7][8]
• Turi – a Pomeranian who lay on her deathbed at her request^[1]
• Coco – an African grey parrot^[9][10][11]
• White Heather – a black and white Persian cat owned by the Queen,^[12] and inherited by her son King Edward VII after her death^[13]

See also

• Royal corgis
• Horses of Elizabeth II
• Caesar - King Edward VII's pet
• Canadian Parliamentary Cats
• Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
• Tibs the Great

References

1. Helen Rapoo (2003), "Animals", Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion, pp. 34–39, ISBN 9781851093557
2. Cheryl MacDonald (2009), Celebrated Pets: Endearing Tales of Companionship and Loyalty, p. 104
3. Paul Johnson, "And Another Thing", The spectator, 15 April 2000, p. 24
4. William Bambridge (1865), Looty the Pekingese 1865, Royal Collection Trust
5. Joe Stahlkuppe (2000), Pomeranians, p. 5, ISBN 9780764110467
6. Jan Toms (2008), Animal Graves and Memorials, Osprey Publishing, p. 39, ISBN 9780747806431
7. Anonymous (1890s). True Stories of Bird and Beast (1st ed.). Glasgow: Blackie and Son.
8. Presberg, Carole. "Queen Victoria's Border Collies". The Border Collie Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
9. Alderton, David (5 April 2002). "David Alderton on the joy of parrots". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
10. Goldstein, Jack (2014). 101 Amazing Facts about Queen Victoria. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781783338146.
11. "MASTERPIECE | What's Fact, What's Fiction in Victoria Season 2 Episode 7". Masterpiece. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
12. Torrey, Edwin Fuller (30 November 2021). "5: The Rise of Cats and Madness: III. The Nineteenth Century (5.2. Nineteenth-Century Cats)". Parasites, Pussycats and Psychosis: The Unknown Dangers of Human Toxoplasmosis. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. p. 72. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-86811-6_5. ISBN 978-3-030-86811-6. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
13. Fletcher, Joann (27 October 2023). "CATS: from Pharaohs' felines to Fairy Cat Mother & the Egyptologist!". Immortal Egypt. Retrieved 18 October 2024.