During an engagement in Canterbury today, Queen Camilla revealed that she has just taken in a new rescue puppy – months after the death of her beloved Jack Russell Beth late last year
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Queen Camilla reveals she’s recently adopted rescue dog called Moley
Queen Camilla has revealed she welcomed a new addition to the family – a brand new rescue puppy.
Today, Camilla has been visiting Canterbury, for an historic visit where she unveiled a life-size bronze statue of writer Aphra Behn. She also visited the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, to celebrate the city’s passion for heritage and literature. While there, she affectionately stroked a guide dog while meeting a partially-sighted museum group.
Bending down to stroke Fergie the labrador the Queen remarked about how ‘affectionate’ guide dogs are. “I’ve just got a new puppy, he’s eight-weeks old,” she told owner Susan Mason, 66, who is partially-sighted. When Ms Mason asked what breed he is, the Queen laughed and said: “You may well ask, a bit of everything. Its a rescue dog. Its called Moley – it looks just like a mole.”
Ms Mason said afterwards that her puppy was named after Sarah Ferguson and that she often calls her “the Duchess”. When the Queen, who adopted her new pet from Battersea, first entered the Special Exhibition’s Gallery during her tour of Beaney, she made a beeline for a different guide dog, Ralph. Stroking him, she said: “He looks very happy, he can probably smell my dogs.”
Her Majesty was left heartbroken when Beth, a Jack Russell Terrier, died last November, and when the King attended the Royal Variety Performance weeks later, he told TV presenter Amanda Holden – who is an ambassador for the world-famous Battersea animal rescue centre in London – that they planned to get a new dog.
Camilla, 77, revealed the sad news that Beth had died after developing an untreatable tumour and she had to be put down. Camilla adopted Beth from Battersea Dogs and Cats home back in 2011 when she was just 12 weeks old after being found tied to a lamppost. The Queen previously told Radio 5 Live: “Along I went to Battersea, and Beth appeared, and she had just been moved from pillar to post and dumped.”
A year later she also adopted Beth’s companion, another Jack Russell called Bluebell. Camilla added: “We thought it would be nice for her [Beth] to have a friend. They found [Bluebell] two or three weeks later, wandering about in woods, no hair on her, covered in sores, virtually dead. And they nursed her back to life and her hair grew again.”
Both Beth and Bluebell made history three years ago when they both became the first rescue dogs to move into Buckingham Palace. In 2020, the two dogs appeared in a memorable snap shared to mark Charles and Camilla’s 15th wedding anniversary, with them both being cuddled by their owners during a trip to Birkhall in Balmoral.
That same year, Beth also took part in a historic first when she unveiled a plaque during Camilla’s first visit to the Battersea Dogs and Cats rescue centre Windsor branch. Camilla scooped Beth up in her arms and took her over to the plaque curtain, where a sausage had been attached to the rope cord. Laughing as Beth grabbed hold of the sausage and pulled, Camilla cheered “brilliant” as the curtain fell away, revealing the plaque.
At King Charles’ Coronation, the dogs weren’t present at the ceremony, however, Camilla made sure they were included in her big day. That’s because she had a dog design stitched into her Bruce Oldfield Coronation gown to represent her two beloved pets.
The royals are known to all be dog lovers, keeping them as loyal pets. As the Prince of Wales, Charles also owned Jack Russells, including his beloved Tigga, who lived until the age of 18 and grew up with Princes William and Harry. A willow and bronze wire sculpture of Tigga stands in tribute to the cherished pet in the gardens of Charles’s Gloucestershire home Highgrove. Tigga’s daughter Pooh went missing on the Balmoral estate in 1994 after running off into the trees but was never found again.
The current Prince and Princess of Wales have a black English Cocker Spaniel called Orla, who has also accompanied them on outings and featured in an emotional family video where Kate announced the end of her chemotherapy treatment following her cancer diagnosis.
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