Pets of the Belle Époque: Cat and Dogs Belonging to Queen Victoria, 1885

Cat and Dogs Belonging to Queen Victoria
Charles Burton Barber, 1885
The Royal Collection

Throughout her entire life, Queen Victoria was a known animal lover and always enjoyed the companionship of her dogs and the occasional cat and parrot. As often as she had portraits painted of her human family, Victoria commissioned paintings (and photographs) of her beloved pets.


This 1885 painting by Charles Burton Barber shows three scrappy dogs and a rather well-mannered cat belonging to the queen. I’m not quite sure which of the Royal dogs these were, but, they were no doubt very loved.