It’s the royal photo everyone wants to see now. Queen Camilla has revealed she has a brand new dog and the cute little pup has an equally cute name. The latest member of the Royal Family is called Moley because she looks like a mole. We’ll have to wait for the much anticipated photo of the pup to see if we agree.
It’s the kind of name all families with younger children end up giving to pets – you can almost hear The Queen saying ‘isn’t she like a mole’ and a littler person saying ”let’s call her Moley”. But there’s no doubt it’s a rather sweet little name and Moley isn’t the first royal pet to have a moniker that makes you go ‘aah’.
Perhaps the most famous dog in the history of the House of Windsor is the sweetly names Susan, the Corgi given to Queen Elizabeth II for her 18th birthday. The breed became known as the ultimate royal dog and every single one owned by Elizabeth II was descended from Susan.
(By New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General – Wiki Commons)
Some of them had even sweeter names, starting with Sugar and Honey while others kept the food flavour going although how Prince Philip felt about calling back Mint or Whisky isn’t known.
Susan’s line eventually ran out with Willow but Queen Elizabeth II’s love of corgis didn’t dim and she got some more. In her final years, she was accompanied by Sandy and Muick (pronounced Mick). On the day of her funeral, they sat patiently inside the walls of Windsor Castle as their late owner’s coffin was driven past them in one of the most poignant moments of all.
(Photo by Buckingham Palace)
Queen Elizabeth also kept dorgis, a mix of dachsund and corgi. One of them had a very sweet name – Candy – and knew just how to charm their royal owner, winning the longest reigning Monarch in British history over with a cheeky appearance as she marked her Platinum Jubilee. Sadly, Candy died just before Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth II got her love of corgis from her father, George VI, who kept the dogs. He didn’t shy away from cute names for his pets, either, counting a Crackers among his companions. The first royal corgi was called Dookie which is just as cute as Moley if we’re quibbling.
(Royal Family/ X)
But super sweet pet names aren’t the preserve of 21st century royals. Queen Victoria had a dachshund called Boy and a King Charles spaniel named Dash who was her constant childhood companion. Her sometimes stern mother, also called Victoria, was less severe when it came to animals, calling her own pet dog Lambkin.
Moley is the third pet that Queen Camilla has got from Battersea Dogs Home in London, following in the footsteps of Bluebell and the much lamented Beth. However, The Queen isn’t the first royal to get her pets from the rescue centre. In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, Prince Leopold, decided to adopt a dog from the centre. He took home a fox terrier and gave it the rather cute name of Skippy.
So Moley, with their unusual but very cuddly name, is following in a rather fine royal tradition.
