7 Bizarre Pets Royals Kept
When You’re Royal, You Can Have Almost Anything, Including Strange Pets
When you’re royalty, there’s no end to the things you can have—castles, crowns, and even cool pets. Throughout history, some royals would forgo traditional pets like fancy horses and opt for the most bizarre of animals instead.
Exotic pets often served as a display of wealth and power, or they were diplomatic gifts that symbolized a monarchy’s far-reaching influence.
Here Are 7 Of The Most Bizarre Pets Royals Have Kept
There’s nothing that shows you’re a ruler better than taking your pet cheetah out for a walk before afternoon tea or a bear splashing around in your backyard moat. Here are seven of the most bizarre pets that royals have ever kept.
1. Polar Bear
A white bear was gifted to King Henry II by Haakon IV of Norway, and it was widely believed to be a polar bear. The bear was a popular attraction at the royal menagerie in the Tower of London. It was allowed to wander the grounds while tied to a chain and swim in the River Thames.
The Tower of London’s royal menagerie housed animals such as lions, monkeys, kangaroos, and elephants. It was finally closed down in the early 19th century by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.
2. Cheetah
King George III received a cheetah named Miss Jenny from Sir George Pigot, who wanted to secure himself a second term as governor-general of Madras. Miss Jenny was later regifted to the Duke of Cumberland and eventually joined the Tower of London menagerie. She became one of the most famous animals there until her death about seven years later.
She was also the subject of a painting by the English artist George Stubbs. In the painting, the cheetah was being prepped for a stag hunt at Windsor Great Park. The hunt was a failure since Miss Jenny ended up cowering in front of the large stag she was supposed to slaughter.
3. Orangutan
The first wife of French despot Napoleon Bonaparte, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, once had a pet orangutan named Rose. She was just one of the many creatures in the empress’s zoo of exotic animals.
Joséphine reportedly dressed Rose in children’s clothing and even had the orangutan dine at the table with her and Napoleon. Rose had an appetite for turnips and could even use silverware to eat her food. Unfortunately, Rose died less than a year after her arrival at the Bonapartes’ Chateau de Malmaison.
4. Monkey
There are multiple royal portraits of Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, with her pet monkey. Historians think the primate was a Panamanian white-faced capuchin. Throughout the 16th century, exotic pets, especially primates, were considered to be symbols of wealth and worldliness.
Other royals besides Catherine were said to have kept pet monkeys as well, including Queen Margaret Tudor of Scotland, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, and the Duke of Berry.
5. Giraffe
A young Nubian giraffe was given as a gift to King Charles X of France from Ottoman viceroy Mehmet Ali Pasha. It was captured in Sudan as part of a series of gifts to European rulers. The young giraffe became a sensation throughout France, with thousands of people lined up and down the streets to meet her.
In early 1945, the giraffe died after living in the Parisian botanical garden Jardin des Plantes for nearly two decades. She was then stuffed and put on display in the garden’s foyer before being moved to the Museum of Natural History of La Rochelle, where she is still housed to this day.
6. Chameleon
Lord Louis Mountbatten gifted Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, a pet chameleon. The sisters made an enclosure for the reptile and carried it around the royal palace so it could devour flies. After the chameleon died, they gave their pet a proper burial.
7. Rhinoceros
King Modofar of Cambaia sent a rhinoceros to Portugal’s king as a diplomatic gift after denying Portugal permission to build a fortress on his land.
The rhinoceros was a female Indian rhino named Ganda. She lived in Manuel’s royal menagerie until she was gifted to Pope Leo X. But when Ganda was on a ship headed to Rome, the rhino and the entire crew drowned during a storm.
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