King Charles Spaniels and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
By Elizabeth Toller-Brown
The King Charles Spaniel, still often known as the English Toy Spaniel or ‘Charlie’ is a small, gentle and devoted spaniel.
In 1903, the Kennel Club combined four colours of toy spaniel under the title of ‘King Charles Spaniel’, which originally referred to just the black and tan dogs.
The other varieties were the ‘Blenheim’ which were referred to as being ‘red and white’, but we now refer to the colours as rich chestnut-red and pearly-white; ‘Red’ which we now call ‘Ruby’ meaning a whole-coloured rich chestnut-red dog and ‘Prince Charles Spaniels’, referring to the tricoloured toy spaniels, which are black, tan and white. That is each of the four recognised colours!
Many whole-coloured dogs of any breed (‘ruby’ or ‘black and tan’ in King Charles Spaniels) often have white patches, especially on the throat, but for show dogs, this is not desirable.
The Breed Standard for all breeds of dog can be found on the Kennel Club’s website.
Toy spaniels were first seen in Europe during the 16th century and they could have originally come from Asia.
‘The Toy Spaniel Club’ was in existence from 1885 and in 1902 the name was changed to ‘The King Charles Spaniel Club’ as the members decided that, as all four colours could be found in one litter, it made more sense!
The English royal family loved them! When Queen Mary I was on the throne, she had this breed and the dogs were made very famous by King Charles II, who owned them and was so devoted to his dogs. Later, Queen Victoria owned one named ‘Dash’ and her great-granddaughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia also owned a little King Charles Spaniel.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the toy spaniels and other similar breeds were crossbred with pugs, as many people desired dogs with shorter muzzles!
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is slightly larger, with a flatter head and a longer muzzle, which distinguishes it from the usually smaller King Charles Spaniel, with a more domed head and a shorter muzzle.
In 1926, an American gentleman named Mr Roswell Eldridge, who loved English Toy Spaniels, came to England and was surprised to find that the breed now had shorter noses!
Consequently, he offered prizes at Crufts for three years, which was then extended to five years. He gave prizes of £25 for the best dog and £25 for the best bitch of the longer-nosed type of toy spaniels; the type that he believed were around at the time of King Charles II.
In the Cruft’s catalogue it said: "As shown in the pictures of King Charles II’s time, long face, no stop; flat skull, not inclined to be domed and with the spot in the centre of the skull."
The spot is still found in the blenheim's of both types and is desired for that coloured dog!
The King Charles Spaniel breeders had worked for years to breed out the longer noses, and now that Mr Eldridge’s prizes were no longer being given at Crufts, Mrs Hewitt Pitt and some other breeders, still continued to breed for these longer-nosed type.
In 1928 The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was formed and held its’ first meeting on the day two of Cruft’s that year. A breed standard was then drawn up and today’s breed standard is not much different to that first draft!
The model for this standard was a blenheim dog named ‘Ann’s Son’ who was owned by Miss Mostyn Walker.
People had also brought along to the show reproductions of paintings from between the 16th and 18th centuries.
The Kennel Club still wouldn’t recognise the breed as separate to the black and tan ‘King Charles Spaniel’ but owners were now able to enter their dogs in the ‘Open’ classes at any shows where the show secretaries agreed to this and the longer-nosed dogs began to gain in popularity.
At last, in 1945, the Kennel Club granted separate registrations for the ‘Cavalier King Charles Spaniels’ and ‘King Charles Spaniels’ and Challenge Certificates were awarded to the Cavalier variety in 1946.
The first Cavalier King Charles Spaniel champion was Mrs Hewitt Pitt’s daughter Jane’s ‘Champion Daywell Roger’ who was bred by Lt. Col. and Mrs Brierly. This little dog played a very large part in the development of ‘Cavaliers’ as they are often called, in the middle of the 20th Century.
Many puppies in litters of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels continued to look more like the dogs we now call ‘King Charles Spaniels’ but, because the breeds are so similar, this is to be expected! Both breeds are often confused with each other, when one walks the dogs of either type and conversations begin!
The noticeable characteristics of both types, as well as the four recognised colours, are their usually sweet, gentle and devoted nature. They just long to be with those they know and love and are breeds that should never, under any circumstances, be ill-treated or used just for breeding or making money. This is true for any dog, of course, but these dear little spaniels are so very sensitive and eager to show love, that to deny them loving homes is unthinkable.
Long may both types continue to be the devoted companions they are and always have been.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and King Charles Spaniels owned by Elizabeth Brown (formally Bullivant) and family:
Elizabeth Toller-Brown
Cambridge, March 2025