You meet all sorts of people on royal tours, from all walks of life, but when you run into a very important puppy, it makes headlines.
King Frederik and Queen Mary are halfway through a week-long tour of Denmark aboard the royal yacht, their first since ascending to the throne earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the royal couple were visiting Assens municipality when they came across a dog with a special connection to their family.
A woman standing near the path at Lundager Forest with her two dogs caught King Frederik’s eyes. One of the border collies was the father of the royal family’s border collie Coco.
Annemette Schäfing told reporters at Billed Bladet that her dog, Eagle, was chosen to breed with the royal family’s border collie Grace, and the resultant puppy was Coco.
“I was referred by the Danish Kennel Club. The Queen wanted brown puppies because she herself had a brown [dog] named Grace,” Schäfing said.
She added: “It seemed that the king could recognize it because it looks like Coco. He asked if there could be a relationship. They were both happy to hear that it was Coco’s father.”
Queen Mary couldn’t resist getting down and interacting with Eagle once they realized the connection to their own dog.
King Frederik and Queen Mary have had Grace, a border collie, since 2017. Prior to that, they had another border collie named Ziggy, which had been with them since their wedding in 2004. When Ziggy died, they got Grace, who is related to Ziggy’s family.
Grace gave birth to a litter of puppies in 2021, and the royal couple kept Coco.
