Small dogs have long shared palaces with emperors, queens and kings, often as lap warmers and status symbols. Breed histories from kennel clubs and reference sources trace each of these companions to a court in Asia or Europe. Here are ten dog breeds once kept as companions in royal households.
1. Pekingese: The sleeve dog of imperial China
The American Kennel Club describes the Pekingese as a compact toy companion of regal bearing, one of several breeds created for the ruling classes of ancient China. Chinese nobles spent centuries breeding flat-faced lapdogs.
The oldest strains were held only by the imperial family and kept pure, and the AKC says stealing one of the dogs was a crime punishable by death. It was once called the Sleeve Dog, for being carried in the sleeves of the imperial household. British troops reached the imperial summer palace in 1860, and a captain brought five Pekes to England as a gift for Queen Victoria.