Queen Camilla recently suffered a very upsetting loss in the build-up to Christmas – and her husband King Charles’s Highgrove home will include a special tribute
King Charles’s country retreat Highgrove has been decked out for Christmas with festive decorations and twinkling lights – and this year it will also include a touching tribute following a recent loss for the royal family.
Among the tree ornaments is an embroidered motif of Beth, Queen Camilla’s beloved Jack Russell, who sadly died on 18 November, leaving the Queen ‘heartbroken.’ Beth, 13, had to be put down after it was discovered that she had cancer. It was a devastating decision for Camilla, who had adopted her as a puppy in 2011 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home when Beth was just 12 weeks old.
Announcing the sad news on social media, Buckingham Palace posted: “A sad farewell to Beth, the Queen’s much-loved companion from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties or curled up by the fire.” In the wake of Beth’s passing, Charles and Camilla have made the big decision to welcome another dog into their home.
The King confirmed the news during his solo appearance at the Royal Variety Show on 22 November. Queen Camilla was unable to attend because she was experiencing “lingering post-viral” symptoms from a recent chest infection. Amanda Holden, who hosted the event with Alan Carr, later said: “We mentioned Her Majesty and we wished her well and I gave condolences for the doggy.”I felt for her, I really felt for her when that happened. He said ‘we’re going to get a new one’.”
It’s likely that the new dog will also come from Battersea; the Queen is a patron of the animal charity where she first adopted Beth, alongside her other Jack Russell dog, Bluebell. Meanwhile, fans are now able to get their hands on the Christmas decoration made in Beth’s likeness, alongside a second depicting Bluebell, from the official Highgrove shop. Costing £12.95 each, they show the dogs wearing bandanas embellished with crowns, and were introduced in September as part of a long-planned addition to the Christmas range – before news of Beth’s illness was known, via Hello.
Dogs have been loyal companions to many members of the royal family; Camilla’s were so dear to her that her Bruce Oldfield Coronation gown featured emblems of Beth and Bluebell in gold embroidery. Of course, the late Queen was also a known animal lover, and had a love of corgis that stemmed all the way back to her childhood. Having first shared a corgi puppy with her sister Princess Margaret, the monarch received Susan, the first corgi of her own, for her 18th birthday in 1944. Her bond with the dog was so strong that she even took her on her honeymoon with Prince Philip in 1947 and she would go on to have more than 30 corgis during her lifetime, all of which she bred from Susan.
The Queen’s corgis famously went wherever she went – from palace to palace, and on helicopters, trains, and in limousines. At Christmas at Sandringham they reportedly each had their own stocking, filled by the Queen herself. Princess Diana is said to have coined the phrase “a moving carpet” to describe the jumble of dogs that would precede the monarch when she entered a room. The Queen, meanwhile, is said to have called them “the girls” and “the boys”. In all her years of breeding, the monarch never sold any of her puppies. All stayed with her, or were given to breeders, relatives or friends.
