45 Photos Of Royals With Animals Over The Years Featuring Dogs, Ponies & More

Please note the look of delight on Prince Philip's face in 1983 when he and Queen Elizabeth visited Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Nobody is more excited than him.

Prince Charles has been a lifelong supporter of wildlife conservation and is the president of the WWF in the UK. In this photo from 1999, he's in the South Atlantic, just hanging out with penguins.

In 2017, Prince Charles got up close and personal with a chill orangutan in the Borneo rainforest.

Princess Diana looked to be in her happiest place hanging out with kids learning about this turtle.

Prince Harry and Prince William clearly loved their Jack Russell terrier, who was named Bluebell, according to Reader's Digest.

There are no words to describe how much fun Prince William and Prince Harry were having in 2010 with a snake in Botswana.

In 2016, Kate Middleton and Prince William looked like they were having the time of their lives feeding baby elephants in India.

Just Prince Harry wearing jeans getting a kiss from a puppy — no big deal.

This goat is more dressed up than Prince Harry.

Prince George was all about that bilby, an Australian rabbit-like animal, in 2013.

Prince Louis was on hand to watch his dad play polo in July 2019, but it looks like he was mostly excited about seeing the horses with his mom, Kate Middleton.

In 2012, Prince William visited the gorilla enclosure at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in England and threw one of the gorillas some fruit to eat, who didn't look too impressed by the future king.

Kate Middleton fed a lamb a bottle in 2017 at the Farms for City Children project in Gloucestershire.

Prince Charles was having the time of his life with Harvey the royal retriever at the Queen's Scottish property of Balmoral in 1978.

Prince Charles couldn't take his eyes off this tiny dog he met in Aukland, New Zealand back in 2005.

Prince Charles took his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, for a walk along the River Dee on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland with their family dogs Widgeon and Tigga when they were teens. And they looked like they had a blast.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked beyond delighted to meet a real koala at a Sydney, Australia zoo in 2014.

Please enjoy the look of delight on Meghan Markle's face as she watched Prince Harry bond with a Shetland pony in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2018.

Here, Prince Harry is just hanging out with his pet pony Smokey at Highgrove House as a little boy.

When Prince George celebrated his first birthday in July 2014, his parents took him to the Sensational Butterflies exhibition to share their love of nature.

Queen Elizabeth has always loved a corgi, perhaps because they stare at her so directly like this one photographed in 1959 at Windsor Castle.

This cat in Morocco leading the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2019 clearly did not even glance at the royal protocol guidelines.

Kate Middleton met the cat from the book A Street Cat Named Bob at an event in 2016 and he seems to think he's more royal than her. The scarf and the pillow... come on.

Princess Diana was so elegant at the Queen Mother's 88th birthday in 1988 that even this corgi knew to walk behind her.

Two queens, one of England and one of the jungle, in one photo at the London Zoo's lion enclosure in 2016.

Camilla Parker-Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, cuddles a lamb in the South of England Show in 2017.

In 1981, Diana Spencer was engaged to marry Prince Charles and this retriever gave the match his seal of approval at Balmoral.

This dog in Majorca might be bigger than Prince Harry in 1986, but the little royal doesn't look nervous at all.

In 1983, Princess Diana and Prince Charles were all about Murphy the terrier at a polo game.

Prince William learned to ride a pony with his mom Princess Diana leading the way at Highgrove Estate.

In 1930, little Princess Elizabeth was already trying to train her dog to walk nicely.

If you want a royal smile get out those koalas, like the ones Queen Elizabeth met in Brisbane, Australia in 1970.

Prince William and Prince Harry were impressed with this sheep they met at the Royal Tournament of Olympia with their parents in 1988.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got up close and personal with the dogs of Ireland's president, Michael Higgins, in 2018.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's son Archie took to the beach for a run with the couple's rescue dogs Guy and Pula in early 2021, and looked like he was having the time of his life in the video shared by CBS. Also that cardigan is terrific.

During a visit to a sustainable farm in April 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got to meet all sorts of animals but especially this sweet lamb.

Camilla Parker Bowles looked right at home petting a horse during a May 2021 visit to Northern Ireland.

When the Duke of Edinburgh died in 2021 at 99 years of age, he was remembered as a gifted polo player among other things. He was playing polo in 1950 just a few days before the birth of Princess Anne, looking cool as anything.

Queen Elizabeth got right into feeding the ducks during a 1950 visit to the Severn Waterfowl Trust. I wonder if bread held by a queen tastes different.

Camilla Parker Bowles enjoyed a little time with her rescue dog Beth over the 2020 Christmas holidays. Beth looked less than impressed.

During their February 2019 tour of Morocco, pregnant Meghan Markle hung out with some beautiful horses in Rabat. And they looked like they were pretty fond of her, too.

Prince Harry couldn't stop himself from giving this sweet golden retriever a good snuggle in October 2018. Who could blame him?

Despite her reported fear of horses, Kate Middleton got up close and personal with this one during her 2017 visit to Farms for City Children.

This giraffe barely looked impressed to be hand fed a carrot from Prince William during a visit to the Australia Zoo in 2012. Come to think of it, Prince William didn't look too impressed either.