English Toy Spaniel

I

History

Adistinct breed from the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the English Toy Spaniel predates it by centuries — the flat-faced, domed-head companion of Tudor and Stuart courts. Van Dyck painted them at the feet of Charles I; they warmed the lap of Mary, Queen of Scots. When the Cavalier was revived in the 1920s, the Toy Spaniel never left the aristocracy.

II

Personality

Reserved with strangers, tender with intimates, and possessed of a quiet dignity that belies their diminutive size. They are not performers; they are presences. A Toy Spaniel chooses its person with care and then remains, silent and warm, through every season.

III

To Live With One

Pied-à-terres, refined apartments, and quiet households where calm is treasured above chaos. They require little exercise, travel beautifully, and prefer not to be left alone. They are the ideal companion for the collector of rare things and rarer silences.

IV

Notable Companions

Mary, Queen of Scots kept them at her side until the block. Charles I and Charles II both favoured the breed; the latter's devotion gave the spaniel family its royal name. In the modern era they are kept by connoisseurs of historic breeds who appreciate a dog that carries four centuries of courtly breeding in a frame small enough for the lap.