Pets by Royal Appointment: The Royal Family and their Animals

I liked Brian Hoey's 'Not in front of the corgis' and having dogs of my own I expected this to be a good book too. It wasn't. I don't know whether Mr. Hoey has pets of his own but this book came across as very condescending towards the royal family and their dogs. It wasn't so bad with previous royal family members but was for the current ones. As for the horses...Fell ponies aren't small ponies, they're almost as big as Highland ponies. Welsh cobs would not be the first choice for a small child's riding pony - but a Welsh Mountain pony would be. There were other things I questioned, too. I read to the end but was glad when I got there and I can't really recommend it to anyone who likes/knows dogs, horses and animals in general.

As an Anglophile for most of my life, I thoroughly enjoyed Pets by Royal Appointment and ordered a copy for a friend, a good endorsement. I was especially impressed by the encyclopedic memory of QEII of all of the names (in order) of her many pets of great variety, including every single pony, horse and royal horse guard steed in her lifetime. Undoubtedly, she can recite all of her royal antecedents as well, but to remember her four-legged friends and their progeny for 80+ years is amazing. I remain a fan of hers!

not incredibly inyeresting

Disappointing. Lots of repetition and NO pictures

As a dog breeder/exhibitor, I always buy books on the subject. Many times they are a disappointment, but this one was a very well written book. I only found one mistake in it. The first Corgi did indeed come from Mrs Thelma Gray. However, his name was Dookie. He got his name while being raised by Mrs Gray, she tells it in her own book. Because he was going to a Duke, she called him Dookie. Just as an aside, When Her Majesty visited Australia some 20 years ago, Mrs Gray was living in Australia, and was thrilled to be invited to have tea with the Queen, in Adelaide, to talk about the Corgis. It is on record that when Thelma Gray decided to live in Australia, The Queen gave her a Corgi as a parting gift. He was registerd at the English Kennel Club as WINDSOR LOYAL SUBJECT

Not one of the best royal books.

I found this book to be rather condescending and too often inaccurate. He also failed to catch obvious errors in dates. If there had been photographs I might be more inclined to feel I could recommend it to others. This is not a book I feel worth buying.

A truly fun read for any animal lover!