TimeWalkiesSign in

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel history: the royal story of Charles II

See the real story – guest starring your dog.

If you share your sofa with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, you are living with a breed named after a king who rarely let his dogs out of his sight. Charles II kept small spaniels with him constantly, and breeders centuries later used paintings from his era to rebuild the long-nosed look his dogs were known for. The breed you know today only took shape in the 1920s, even though its name points back to the 1600s.

What is TimeWalkies?

A dog owner at breakfast looks at a postcard of her dog painted into ancient Egypt while the dog sleeps nearby.

TimeWalkies paints your dog into a famous moment from history and sends it as a postcard. A new place and time every morning.

How TimeWalkies works

  1. Choose a photo of your dog.
  2. You get your first TimeWalkies postcard immediately!
  3. Then you get another one for free.
  4. If you like them, keep them coming every day for $99 for a whole year (about 27¢ per day, one‑off payment, no auto‑renewal).

2 free postcards. No credit card.

The story in 5 parts

A short version first. The full story, with every detail, is further down.

Part 1

The royal fascination that gave the breed its name

Charles II was rarely without his spaniels.

Part 2

From Tudor and Stuart lapdogs to a defined type

Small spaniels show up in English court life well before Charles II.

Part 3

The 20th century revival of the longer-nosed type

The modern Cavalier exists largely because of one American who wanted the old type back.

Part 4

Paintings and portraits as historical evidence

You can trace much of this history through old paintings.

Part 5

From royal companion to modern pet

The Kennel Club in England recognised the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as its own breed in December 1944.

Read the full story

Part 1

The royal fascination that gave the breed its name

Charles II was rarely without his spaniels. They followed him through the royal apartments at Whitehall Palace and were even present during matters of state. The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded his frustration after seeing the King play with one of his dogs during a Council meeting instead of attending to business. A popular story claims Charles II issued a decree, or that a law still lets these dogs into any public building, but historical research has found no evidence such a decree or act ever existed.

So why does your dog carry his name at all? The small spaniels were already called King Charles Spaniels during the Stuart period, and that attachment to Charles II was strong enough to outlast him by centuries. When breeders later worked to recreate his dogs' original look, the royal name stuck, and the word Cavalier was added to separate the new type from its shorter-faced cousin.

Part 2

From Tudor and Stuart lapdogs to a defined type

Small spaniels show up in English court life well before Charles II. During Tudor times, these toy spaniels were common pets among the ladies of the court, and paintings from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries show them as companions to European nobility. It was under the Stuarts that they received the royal title of King Charles Spaniels, before their name became permanently tied to Charles II himself. So if your dog's ancestors go back this far, they were comforting court ladies long before they belonged to any king.

After Charles II's death, fashions in toy spaniels gradually changed. The growing popularity of flat-faced toy breeds from Asia, including the Pug and the Japanese Chin, influenced British breeding, and through selective breeding and crosses with these dogs, shorter muzzles and rounder skulls became fashionable. By the nineteenth century, the longer-faced spaniels from Charles II's court had largely given way to a shorter-faced toy spaniel with a domed skull, known in Britain as the King Charles Spaniel. That dog and the modern Cavalier King Charles Spaniel are recognised today as separate breeds, and they diverged from each other roughly a century ago.

Part 3

The 20th century revival of the longer-nosed type

The modern Cavalier exists largely because of one American who wanted the old type back. In 1926, Roswell Eldridge offered a prize at the Crufts Dog Show for Blenheim spaniels of the old type, as shown in pictures of Charles II's time, with a long face, no stop, and a flat skull. The prize was twenty-five pounds of sterling silver for the best male and best female of that description, and it was offered to continue for five years. Established King Charles Spaniel breeders, who had spent decades breeding toward a shorter face, were not enthusiastic, and some entered dogs they considered sub-par anyway.

If you have ever wondered why your dog does not quite match an old King Charles Spaniel painting, this is why. Eldridge died before seeing his idea succeed, but in 1928 a dog named Ann's Son, owned by Miss Mostyn Walker, won the prize and became the model for the first breed standard. That same year, breeders founded the first Cavalier club, and the Kennel Club recognised the variety as King Charles Spaniels, Cavalier type. The Second World War set the breed back severely, with most breeding stock lost to wartime hardship, and the Kennel Club did not recognise the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in its own right until December 1944.

Part 4

Paintings and portraits as historical evidence

You can trace much of this history through old paintings. Artists including Titian, Van Dyck, Lely, Stubbs, Gainsborough, Reynolds, and Romney painted small spaniels with flat heads, high-set ears, almond eyes, and rather pointed noses. Eldridge based his prize description directly on paintings from Charles II's time, and he had also seen the long-nosed type in works by Gainsborough and Copley before concluding that no such dog remained in England.

These images are useful, but they have limits as proof. The exact relationship between the different toy spaniels was debated among dog writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and one researcher tried to investigate the lineage by crossing dogs with a now-extinct breed she considered the best living link to the seventeenth-century type. That kind of uncertainty is a reminder that a painting can show you what a dog looked like without settling every question about its ancestry.

Part 5

From royal companion to modern pet

The Kennel Club in England recognised the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as its own breed in December 1944. The Kennel Club in England recognised the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as its own breed in December 1944, and the breed reached the United States when it was brought over in 1956. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1995, and Cavaliers began competing for AKC championship points the following year. Since 2000, the breed has grown in popularity in the United States and now ranks among its most popular purebreds.

If you own one of these dogs, it helps to know that this history shapes your dog's health today. Mitral valve disease, a heart condition, can affect the breed and can lead to heart failure if it is not managed. Syringomyelia, a condition in which cavities or cysts form within the spinal cord near the brain, is another recognised concern, and it can cause pain, weakness, or coordination problems. Reputable breeders test their breeding dogs to try to reduce the risk of passing these conditions on, and regular veterinary check-ups matter throughout your dog's life.

Things you might not know

  • Charles II was rarely without his spaniels.
  • They followed him through the royal apartments at Whitehall Palace and were even present during matters of state.
  • Small spaniels show up in English court life well before Charles II.
  • The Kennel Club in England recognised the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as its own breed in December 1944.

Year by year

  1. 1926In 1926, Roswell Eldridge offered a prize at the Crufts Dog Show for Blenheim spaniels of the old type, as shown in pictures of Charles II's time, with a long face, no stop, and a flat skull.
  2. 1928Eldridge died before seeing his idea succeed, but in 1928 a dog named Ann's Son, owned by Miss Mostyn Walker, won the prize and became the model for the first breed standard.
  3. December 1944The Kennel Club did not recognise the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in its own right until December 1944.
  4. 1956The Kennel Club in England recognised the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as its own breed in December 1944, and the breed reached the United States when it was brought over in 1956.
  5. 1995The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1995, and Cavaliers began competing for AKC championship points the following year.
  6. 2000Since 2000, the breed has grown in popularity in the United States and now ranks among its most popular purebreds.

Questions people ask

Why is the breed named after Charles II?

Charles II was rarely without his small spaniels, and they already carried the King Charles name during the Stuart period. When breeders later revived the old long-nosed look, that royal name stayed attached to the new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Did Charles II really own these dogs?

Yes, Charles II kept small spaniels with him constantly, including through court life and matters of state. The diarist Samuel Pepys even recorded seeing the King play with one during a Council meeting. A popular story about a royal decree letting the dogs into any public building has no evidence to support it.

What is the difference between a King Charles Spaniel and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?

The King Charles Spaniel has a shorter, flatter face and a more domed skull, a look that became fashionable by the nineteenth century through crossing with flat-faced breeds. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was bred in the 1920s to restore the older, longer-muzzled look seen in paintings from Charles II's time, and the two are recognised today as separate breeds.

When was the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel officially recognized as a breed?

A breed club and standard were established in 1928, but the Kennel Club in England did not recognise the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in its own right until December 1944. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1995.

Are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels descended directly from royal dogs?

Cavaliers share their history with the small toy spaniels kept at the English court, and breeders in the 1920s used paintings from Charles II's era as their guide to recreate that older look. Breeders in the 1920s used paintings from Charles II's era as their guide to recreate the older type after it had nearly disappeared.

Your first 2 postcards are free, with no credit card. After that, it is $14.99 a month, or a one-time $99 Year Pass for 365 days. Give TimeWalkies as a gift.

Sources

  1. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
  2. History of the Cavalier – The American Connection. Canine Chronicle.
  3. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel History | Learn About This Beloved Breed. Royal Flush Cavaliers | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppies, Stud Service & Elite Animal Talent.
  4. Promontory Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - History. promontorycavaliers.com.
  5. About the Cavalier | Mysite. Mysite.
  6. The Royal History of Cavaliers | Heritage & Legacy | Cavaliers by Val. www.cavaliers-by-val.com.
  7. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: A Comprehensive History. Pine Acres Puppies, Jan 29, 2025.
  8. History of Cavaliers. Cavalier Nation.
  9. History of the Cavalier — King David's Cavaliers of Memphis. King David.
  10. History of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. World Class Cavalier, Jan 15, 2019.

Written by TimeWalkies EditorialLast updated How we research