From the tail-wagging chums of her childhood to the four four-legged friends who play in Buckingham Palace today, Queen Elizabeth II has always known that dogs rule! On March 17th the British monarch paid a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to officially open the renowned UK animal welfare charity’s crowning achievement– new kennels.
Greeted by a Dog Guard of Honor, the British monarch and Prince Philip toured the Mary Tealby Kennels, a £4.8m state-of-the-art facility complete with soothing music played from built-in speakers, under-floor heating, outdoor exercise pens and other amenities to make Rovers feel positively regal.
During the tour the Queen met four famous friends of Fidos and felines who had stepped into their roles as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s Celebrity Ambassadors to launch the charity’s kennel appeal in 2014– international supermodel David Gandy; Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden; acclaimed children’s author (and proud pet parent to a Battersea pup), Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and comic/talk show host Paul O’Grady, who has shone a spotlight on Battersea’s adoptables in several seasons of the award-winning documentary series Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs.
While Queen Elizabeth II has been Battersea Dogs and Cat’s Home’s Royal Patron since May 18, 1956, the charity has yet another link to the royal family. Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, adopted Beth and Bluebelle– her Jack Russell Terriers– from Battersea, and declared the organization’s cattery officially open in 2010.
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has rescued, reunited and rehomed more than 3.1 million companion animals since its start in 1860 .
For more information:
- visit www.battersea.org.uk
Photo Credit: ITN News; Getty Images/WPA Pool/pool