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LONDON − It was a celebration almost fit for a king. All 150 of them.
The human with whom they share a name may have been the headliner down the road at Westminster Abbey, where King Charles III was crowned Saturday at a lavish ceremony alongside Queen Consort Camilla.
But it was dogs like “Timmy,” “Buddy and dozens of the other Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who attempted to parade on London’s King’s Road as part of a coronation street party who caused chaos stole the show.
It wasn’t quite raining cats and dogs. It was a little drizzly. Most of the dogs didn’t mind.
They were also mostly unfazed by the swathes of red, white and blue bunting, street performers, food stalls, a steel drum band, kids loosely gripping Union Jack flags and few tipsy celebrants of the two-legged variety. The dogs proved they were not just floppy-eared playthings or bed warmers for noble lords and ladies.
King and queen consort crowned:King Charles III’s coronation
Though they did unleash some bite-sized anarchy because, well, dogs.
There was ruby-colored, two-year-old “Toffee,” who wore a golden crown that kept slipping of his head.
He had to be carried most of the way by his owner Bibi Tukentahi, 19, a college student at a veterinary school.
Tukentahi said “Toffee” was not happy about the rain. Normally, on a Saturday, he’d be chasing squirrels in the park. “I wanted to be part of this historical event and what better way than to have a dog with you.”
There was “Machi,” another two-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He wore yellow rubber booties. He had recently cut his foot and his owner, Kit Law, who works for Britain’s interior ministry, didn’t want a repeat.
“He likes food, running after balls, standard dog stuff,” said Law, 42.
“Machi” was a chestnut-and-white color − “Blenheim” in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel world.
He had a lot to say in the form of a piercing squeal-cum-bark.
‘Here lies Jack, King Edward’s favorite Irish Terrier’
Royals and their dogs has long been a thing.
When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, “Eos,” their greyhound, joined them for the honeymoon.
King Edward VII preferred terriers; in particular, a dog named “Jack.”
“Here lies Jack, King Edward’s favorite Irish Terrier who only lived twelve hours after reaching his native land,” his epitaph reads. “Jack” died suddenly during a visit to Ireland in 1903.
Queen Elizabeth II − the current king’s mother − was a loyal corgi girl.
On her 18th birthday she was given “Susan,” from whom all the subsequent corgis the late queen bred descended. She also bred so-called dorgis, a cross between a dachshund and a corgi.
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The current king’s favorite pooch breed is the Jack Russell, initially bred for fox hunting. Two of them − “Bluebell” and “Beth” − live with him and the queen consort at Buckingham Palace.
According to the Royal Kennel Club of Britain, which claims to be the world’s oldest organization devoted to canine affairs (breeding, training, showing, dog welfare) the King Charles Spaniel and its cousin the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel can be traced back in history to at least the 16th century.
Queen Elizabeth I, who ruled from 1558 to 1603, was reported to have had a “spaniel gentle.”
Some historians believe that when Charles I was executed in 1649 during the English Civil War, his black-and-white spaniel, “Rogue,” was at his side. When his son, Charles II, was later restored to the throne, he rarely went anywhere without a cluster of spaniels in tow. They were likely at his bedside when he died.
‘They are the most cat-like of the dogs’
Back on the King’s Road, the parade didn’t exactly go to plan.
“They are the most cat-like of the dogs,” said Candace Queathem, one of the event’s organizers, of the spaniels.
“But don’t quote me on that,” she laughed.
Then Queathem strode down the King’s Road to get the dogs ready for the start of the march.
The order lasted for about a block.
Then because of the rain, because of the crowds and because of well, dogs again, the parade descended into a lot of dogs doing a lot of different things. Two, in kingly red velour robes across their backs, growled at each other. Another, with big sad eyes, shivered as he was pushed in a kids stroller. A few stopped for a pee. Another pulled its owner in the direction of a nearby blond Labrador Retriever – not part of the parade.
“This is my second coronation,” said Tony Hunt, 84, who was warily watching the scene unfold.
He stood on a street corner in the long scarlet coat worn with pride by Chelsea Pensioners, a retirement and nursing home associated with the Royal Hospital Chelsea for former members of the British Army.
“I remember last time, as a 14-year-old, just like this, standing in the rain and watching that one,” he said, referring to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, which took place in 1953.
Hunt then glanced at some of the spaniels.
“I’m not sure if I’d call them dogs,” he said. “They’re too small.”
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