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Princess Anne was all smiles while meeting an enthusiastic service dog at a royal garden party this week
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Channeling her animal-loving late mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Princess Royal grabbed the pup’s paws with a smile when she jumped up on her
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King Charles had a similar run-in with the dog, a 2-year-old cocker spaniel named Vegas
A love of animal — especially horses and dogs — is something the late Queen Elizabeth passed down through generations of her family, from her children to her grandchildren and even her great-grandchildren.
That affection was on display this week as several senior royals attended a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 6.
Among the two-legged guests was a standout star who met three major members of the royal family: Vegas, a two-year-old cocker spaniel who serves as a hearing dog for the deaf.
Unable to curtsy or bow as per tradition, the eager pup first greeted King Charles, 77, by eagerly leaping up and licking at his hands.
King Charles at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 6, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
The dog, a 2-year-old cocker spaniel named Vegas, was then formally introduced to the King by her owner, Kate Wilson, 52, from Horsham, West Sussex.
Wilson explained that Vegas works as a hearing dog for the deaf. “They do hearing dogs too, now? Marvelous,” King Charles remarked, according to the Daily Mail.
Next, it was time for Vegas to meet Princess Anne, who proved to be her mother’s daughter when she seemed utterly charmed by the dog’s boisterous greeting.
“Is it everyone or is it just me?” Anne asked Vegas, bending down to hold her front paws with a smile.
Wilson shared with the Princess Royal that the cocker spaniel is her first hearing service cdog.
“And does she help you? That’s all working well?” Anne inquired.
“Oh, she really helps me,” Wilson agreed. ‘I am a teacher, and she has changed my life.”
Princess Anne at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 6, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
However, while Wilson and the Princess Royal discussed the “life-changing” impact Vegas had made on her daily routine, the dog in question seemed to grow a bit restless and began digging in the palace lawn. Wilson apologised, but Anne waved it off.
“Oh, it’s quite all right,” she said, complimenting Vegas’s efforts. “It’s a good size.”
The late Queen Elizabeth had over 30 dogs over the course of her life, and when she died at age 96, on Sept. 8, 2022, she was outlived by just two of her beloved pets: Sandy and Muick.
At the time, it was decided that the dogs would be placed in the care of then-Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. The two were living together at their longtime residence, Royal Lodge, despite divorcing in 1996.
However, last fall, the corgis’ fate was in limbo once again following King Charles’s decision to strip Andrew of his royal titles amid increased scrutiny over his connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Additionally, the King ordered that Andrew and Sarah give up the lease on Royal Lodge.
Prince Andrew tends to Queen Elizebeth’s corgis outside her funeral service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Sept. 19, 2022
Credit: Justin Setterfield/Getty
The disgraced former couple chose to go their separate ways, with Ferguson planning to find a new place of her own and “forge an independent life,” a source close to her told PEOPLE at the time.
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As for Sandy and Muick, a source recently told PEOPLE that they have stayed with Andrew. He recently moved into his new residence on the Sandringham estate, Marsh Farm, after temporarily staying at the nearby Wood Farm in early 2026.
The Sandringham estate is privately owned, and it’s understood that Andrew’s accommodations moving forward will be paid for by the King.
Read the original article on People