King Charles Spaniel

The King Charles Spaniel (also known as the English Toy Spaniel) is a small dog breed of the spaniel type. In 1903, the Kennel Club combined four separate toy spaniel breeds under this single title. The other varieties merged into this breed were the Blenheim, Ruby and Prince Charles Spaniels, each of which contributed one of the four colours available in the breed.

Thought to have originated in East Asia, toy spaniels were first seen in Europe during the 16th century. They became linked with English royalty in the time of Queen Mary I and were made famous by their association with King Charles II. Members of the breed were owned by Queen Victoria (Dash) and her great-granddaughter Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.

The King Charles Spaniel and the other types of toy spaniels were crossbred with the Pug in the early 19th century to reduce the size of the nose, as was the style of the day. The 20th century saw attempts to restore lines of King Charles Spaniels to the breed of Charles II's time. These included the unsuccessful Toy Trawler Spaniel and the now popular Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The Cavalier is slightly larger, with a flat head and a longer nose, while the King Charles is smaller, with a domed head and a flat face.

Historically the breeds that were merged into the King Charles Spaniel were used for hunting; due to their stature they were not well suited. They have kept their hunting instincts, but do not exhibit high energy and are better suited to being lapdogs. The modern breed is prone to several health problems, including cardiac conditions and a range of eye problems.

History

The King Charles Spaniel may share a common ancestry with the Pekingese and Japanese Chin.

The red and white variety of toy spaniel was first seen in paintings by Titian, including the ''Venus of Urbino'' (1538), where a small dog is used as a symbol of female seductiveness. Further paintings featuring these toy spaniels were created by Palma Vecchio and Paolo Veronese during the 16th century. These dogs already had high domed heads with short noses, although the muzzles were more pointed than they are today. These Italian toy spaniels may have been crossed with local small dogs such as the Maltese and also with imported Chinese dogs. The Papillon is the continental descendant of similar toy-sized spaniels.

The earliest recorded appearance of a toy spaniel in England was in a painting of Queen Mary I and King Philip. Mary, Queen of Scots, was also fond of small toy dogs, including spaniels, showing the fondness of the British royalty for these types of dogs before Charles II. Lytton (1911): p. 38

King Henry III of France owned a number of small spaniels, which were called Damarets. Although one of the translations of John Caius' 1570 Latin work ''De Canibus Britannicis'' talks of "a new type of Spaniel brought out of France, rare, strange, and hard to get", Lytton (1911): p. 16 this was an addition in a later translation, and was not in the original text. Caius did discuss the "Spainel-gentle, or Comforter" though, which he classified as a delicate thoroughbred. This spaniel was thought to originate from Malta and was sought out only as a lapdog for "daintie dames".

Captain John Saris may have brought back examples of toy spaniels from his voyage to Japan in 1613, Lytton (1911): p. 94 a theory proposed by Commodore Matthew C. Perry during his expeditions to Japan on behalf of the United States in the mid-19th century. He noted that dogs were a common gift and thought that the earlier voyage of Captain Saris introduced a Japanese type of spaniel into England.

17th century and Charles II

In the 17th century, toy spaniels began to feature in paintings by Dutch artists such as Caspar Netscher and Peter Paul Rubens. Spanish artists, including Juan de Valdés Leal and Diego Velázquez, also depicted them; in the Spanish works, the dogs were tricolour, black and white or entirely white. French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon would later describe these types of dogs as crosses between spaniels and Pugs. Lytton (1911): p. 15

King Charles II of England was very fond of the toy spaniel, which is why the dogs now carry his name, Shaw (1881): p. 162 although there is no evidence that the modern breeds are descended from his particular dogs. He is credited with causing an increase in popularity of the breed during this period. Samuel Pepys' diary describes how the spaniels were allowed to roam anywhere in Whitehall Palace, including during state occasions. In an entry dated 1 September 1666, describing a council meeting, Pepys wrote, "All I observed there was the silliness of the King, playing with his dog all the while and not minding the business." Lytton (1911): p. 52 Charles' sister Princess Henrietta was painted by Pierre Mignard holding a small red and white toy-sized spaniel. Lytton (1911): p. 17 Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, writing in her 1911 work ''Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors'', theorised that after Henrietta's death at the age of 26 in 1670, Charles took her dogs for himself.

After Charles II

Toy spaniels continued to be popular in the British court during the reign of King James II, through that of Queen Anne. Popular types included those of the white and red variety. Walsh (1876): p. 667 Following the Glorious Revolution in 1688 and the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II, the Pug was introduced into Britain which would eventually lead to drastic physical changes to the King Charles Spaniel. Moffat (2006): p. 19 Comparisons between needlework pictures of English toy spaniels and the continental variety show that changes had already begun to take place in the English types by 1736, with a shorter nose being featured and the breed overall moving away from the one seen in earlier works by Anthony van Dyck during the 17th century. Lytton (1911): p. 19

English toy spaniels remained popular enough during the 18th century to be featured frequently in literature and in art. ''On Rover, a Lady's Spaniel'', Jonathan Swift's satire of Ambrose Philips's poem to the daughter of the Lord Lieutenant, describes the features of an English toy, specifying a "forehead large and high" among other physical characteristics of the breeds. Toy spaniels and Pugs were featured in both group portraits and satirical works by William Hogarth. Toy spaniels were still popular with the upper classes as ladies' dogs, despite the introduction of the Pug; both Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of Queen Charlotte from 1781 and George Romney's 1782 '' Lady Hamilton as Nature'' feature toy spaniels with their mistresses. The toy spaniels of this century weighed as little as , although they were thought to be the dog breed most prone to becoming overweight, or "fattened".

19th century and the Blenheim Spaniel

left, An 1852 drawing of King Charles and Blenheim Spaniels, alt=A black and white drawing of a group of several similar looking small spaniels with different markings.
The varieties of toy spaniel were occasionally used in hunting, as the ''Sportsman's Repository'' reported in 1830 of the Blenheim Spaniel: "Twenty years ago, His Grace the Duke of Marlborough was reputed to possess the smallest and best breed of cockers in Britain; they were invariably red–and–white, with very long ears, short noses, and black eyes." Shaw (1881): p. 163 During this period, the term "cocker" was not used to describe a Cocker Spaniel, but rather a type of small spaniel used to hunt woodcock. The Duke's residence, Blenheim Palace, gave its name to the Blenheim Spaniel. The ''Sportsman's Repository'' explains that toy spaniels are able to hunt, albeit not for a full day or in difficult terrain: "The very delicate and small, or 'carpet spaniels,' have exquisite nose, and will hunt truly and pleasantly, but are neither fit for a long day or thorny covert." Shaw (1881): p. 164 This idea was supported by Vero Shaw in his 1881 work ''The Illustrated Book of the Dog'', and by Thomas Brown in 1829 who wrote, "He is seldom used for field–sports, from his diminutive size, being easily tired, and is too short in the legs to get through swampy ground." Brown (1829): p. 295 During the 19th century, the Maltese was still considered to be a type of spaniel, and thought to be the parent breed of toy spaniels, including both the King Charles and Blenheim varieties.

The breeds of toy spaniel often rivalled the Pug in popularity as lapdogs for ladies. The disadvantage of the breeds of toy spaniel was that their long coats required constant grooming. By 1830, the toy spaniel had changed somewhat from the dogs of Charles II's day. William Youatt in his 1845 study, ''The Dog'', was not enamoured of the changes: "The King Charles's breed of the present day is materially altered for the worse. The muzzle is almost as short, and the forehead as ugly and prominent as the veriest bull-dog. The eye is increased to double its former size, and has an expression of stupidity with which the character of the dog too accurately corresponds." Youatt did concede that the breed's long ears, coat and colouring were attractive. Youatt (1852): p. 78 Due to the fashion of the period, the toy spaniels were crossed with Pugs to reduce the size of their noses and then selectively bred to reduce it further. By doing this, the dog's sense of smell was impaired, and according to 19th century writers, this caused the varieties of toy spaniel to be removed from participation in field sports. Blunt-Lytton proposed that the red and white Blenheim Spaniels always had the shorter nose now seen in the modern King Charles. Lytton (1911): p. 14
upA painting of a King Charles Spaniel by alt=A painting of a small red and white spaniel with long ears
From the 16th century, it was the fashion for ladies to carry small toy-sized spaniels as they travelled around town. These dogs were called "Comforters" and given the species biological classification of ''Canis consolator'' by 19th-century dog writers. By the 1830s, this practice was no longer in vogue, and these types of spaniels were becoming rarer. Brown (1829): p. 301 "Comforter" was given as a generic term to lapdogs, including the Maltese, the English Toy and Continental Toy Spaniels, the latter of which was similar to the modern Phalène. It was once believed that the dogs possessed some power of healing: in 1607 Edward Topsell repeated Caius' observation that "these little dogs are good to asswage the sickness of stomach, being oftentimes thereunto applied as a plaister preservative, or bourne in the bosum of the diseased and weak person, which effect is performed by their moderate heat." Brown (1829): p. 302 By the 1840s, "Comforter" had dropped out of use, and the breed had returned to being called Toy Spaniels. Lytton (1911): p. 36 The first written occurrence of a ruby coloured toy spaniel was a dog named Dandy, owned by a Mr Garwood in 1875. Lytton (1911): p. 40

The dogs continued to be popular with royalty. In 1896, Otto von Bismarck purchased a King Charles Spaniel from an American kennel for $1,000. The dog weighed less than , and had been disqualified from the Westminster Kennel Club the previous year on account of its weight. The average price was lower than that paid by Bismarck. In 1899, the price ranged between $50 and $200 for a King Charles or Blenheim, Diehl (1899): p. 39 with the Ruby and Prince Charles Spaniel ranging between $50 and $150. Diehl (1899): p. 41 Diehl (1899): p. 42

Anne Brontë's "Flossy," given to her by the Robinson children when she left her governorship of them, was a King Charles Spaniel.

Conformation showing and the 20th century

In 1903, the Kennel Club attempted to amalgamate the King James (black and tan), Prince Charles (tricolour), Blenheim and Ruby spaniels into a single breed called the Toy Spaniel. The Toy Spaniel Club, which oversaw those separate breeds, strongly objected, and the argument was only resolved following the intervention of King Edward VII, who made it clear that he preferred the name "King Charles Spaniel". In 1904, the American Kennel Club followed suit, combining the four breeds into a single breed known as the English Toy Spaniel. The Japanese Spaniel was also considered a type of toy spaniel, Diehl (1899): p. 38 but was not merged into the new breed and was recognised as a breed in its own right.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia owned a King Charles Spaniel at the time of the shooting of the Romanov family on 17 July 1918. Eight days later, Nicholas Sokolov of the White Forces found a clearing where he believed the bodies of the Romanov family had been burnt, and discovered the corpse of a King Charles Spaniel at the site. In 1920s, the Duchess of Marlborough bred so many King Charles Spaniels at Blenheim Palace that her husband moved out and later evicted the Duchess herself.

Blunt-Lytton documented her attempts in the early 20th century to re-breed the 18th-century type of King Charles Spaniel as seen in the portraits of King Charles II. Lytton (1911): p. 80 She used the Toy Trawler Spaniel, a curly haired, mostly black, small to medium-sized spaniel, and cross-bred these dogs with a variety of other breeds, including Blenheim Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels, in unsuccessful attempts to reproduce the earlier style.
Headshot of an early 20th-century Ruby Spaniel, alt=A black and white photographic headshot of a small spaniel with a stubby nose and mostly dark markings.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel originated from a competition held by American Roswell Eldridge in 1926. He offered a prize fund for the best male and female dogs of "Blenheim Spaniels of the old type, as shown in pictures of Charles II of England's time, long face, no stop, flat skull, not inclined to be domed, with spot in centre of skull." Coile (2008): p. 9 Breeders entered what they considered to be sub-par King Charles Spaniels. Although Eldridge did not live to see the new breed created, several breeders banded together and created the first breed club for the new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in 1928, with the Kennel Club initially listing the new breed as "King Charles Spaniels, Cavalier type". In 1945, the Kennel Club recognised the new breed in its own right. The American Kennel Club did not recognise the Cavalier until 1997. Moffat (2006): p. 23

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, continued the connection between royalty and the King Charles Spaniel, attending Princess Anne's tenth birthday party with her dog Rolly in 1960. Elizabeth II has also owned King Charles Spaniels in addition to the dogs most frequently associated with her, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

In 2008, the BBC
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