Despite his questionable manners, Caesar was King Edward VII's loyal and inseparable companion during the last years of the King's life.
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| King Edward VII, Caesar and Queen Alexandra |
Caesar, a high-strung wire fox terrier, was born in the kennels of the Duchess of Newcastle in 1898 and was given to King Edward VII in 1902 by Lord Dudley after the King lost his dog Jack. The two bonded quickly. Caesar, who had his own footman to tend to his needs, slept on a chair next to the King's bed, was almost always at his master's side, and wore a collar with a gold tag bearing the inscription "I am Caesar. I belong to the King."
Despite his loyalty, the feisty terrier enjoyed chasing small critters. On one occasion, an entire police force was sent into the woods to find the lost dog. When misbehaved, the King would shake his walking stick at Caesar and call him a "naughty dog." But this wasn't always the case. According to Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, "Whenever I went into the King's cabin [on board the royal yacht], this dog always went for my trousers and worried them, much to the King's delight. I used not to take the slightest notice and went on talking all the time to the King, which I think amused His Majesty still more."
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| Funeral procession |
When King Edward VII died in 1910, Caesar, accompanied by a kilted highlander, walked behind the carriage that carried his master's coffin - in front of international dignitaries. This did not please some, including Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire.
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| "Silent Sorrow" A painting by Maud Earl in 1910 capturing Caesar's grief, resting his head on the King's favorite chair. |
Caesar, who mourned his master's death, remained in the Royal household with Queen Alexandra. Shortly after the King's death, an unofficial book titled Where's Master was written from the viewpoint of Caesar.
Caesar passed away in 1914.
