History and Origins
Country of Origin - England
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs are a fairly recent breed and are the latest of the English Toy Spaniels developed in the 1920s in an attempt to recreate the famous dogs of King Charles. The name Cavalier was added to distinguish them from the older King Charles Spaniel.
Up until the 19th century, the King Charles Spaniel had a pointed muzzle, but in the Victorian era it became fashionable to breed dogs with shorter faces. Before long, the King Charles became a flat-faced breed (as it still is today).
In 1926 however, an American called Roswell Eldridge visited England and was upset not to be able to see the dogs he had admired in art. For five years running he offered prizes at Crufts for the best ‘long faced King Charles Spaniel’. This started a movement which led to the formation of the Cavalier King Charles Club in 1928, although it took until 1945 for the two breeds to be separately recognised. As the years passed, this new breed became by far the most popular and became one of the UKs best loved breeds.