Royal Companions and Political Pets
Winston Churchill had Rufus, Franklin D. Roosevelt had Fala and Haile Selassie had Lulu; from the White House and Downing Street to the royal palaces, many leaders have had furry and feathered friends.
We take a look back at the famous and lesser known royal and political pets, featuring dogs, horses, hamsters and sometimes more exotic companions.
King Peter II and Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia, with their long-haired dachshund pup, in the inglenook alcove of their country residence in Egham, England, Oct. 21, 1945. (AP Photo /Eddie Worth)
Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, is pictured with dog, Lulu, on his lap when traveling on Aug. 26, 1968. In addition to several domesticated animals, the emperor has many wild animals in the grounds of his palace, including tame cheetahs. (AP Photo)
New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller holds paw of Lulu, pet Chihuahua of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia as the governor paid a courtesy visit to the emperor at his suite in the Hotel Carlyle, in New York, Feb. 17, 1967. (AP Photo)
AP bulletin, June 8, 1927, reporting on the adventures of Rebecca the raccoon belonging to President and First Lady Coolidge. (AP Corporate Archives/Washington D.C. News Dispatches, Library of Congress)
The opening day of the conference of Dominion Prime Ministers at No. 10 Downing Street in London, England, April 21, 1949. Front row from left: Prime Minister Clement Attlee with his dog Ting, First Lady of Pakistan Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Benedict "Ben" Chifley. Back row from left: Prime Minister of New Zealand Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of South Africa Daniel Malan, Prime Minister of Ceylon Don Stephen Senanayake and Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Philip Noel-Baker. (AP Photo)
Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill leaves 10 Downing Street with his poodle on Aug. 12, 1953. (AP Photo)
Sir Winston Churchill feeding garden birds and fish (British Movietone/AP Archive)
President Syngman Rhee playing with and feeding his two pet dogs Smartie and Happy, and their two week old pups, outside the presidential mansion in Seoul, March 17, 1956. (AP Photo/George Sweers)
President Syngman Rhee of South Korea on the lawn of his official residence holding his pet dog Smartie on his lap, in Seoul, April 8, 1953. (AP Photo/Fred Waters)
The pet falcon of Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, waits, hooded, sitting on a pole beside the large Mercedes-Benz of his master in front of the Government Palace, in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 1971. The bird and his handler will follow the Emir in a separate car. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, back to camera, shows his pet pandas to visiting United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, right, at Nehru's home, March 18, 1959. (AP Photo)
The Swedish royal family poses for a family Christmas photo session in the Drottningholm palace, Dec. 17, 1982. From left: King Carl Gustaf XVI, Queen Silvia holding baby Princess Madeleine, Crown Princess Victoria, and Prince Carl Philip. On the rug is the family dog, Charlie. (AP Photo/Bjorn Elgstrand)
Grace Kelly, left, hugs her French poodle, Oliver, as she receives lifeboat drill instructions from assistant purser Patrick Costello, right, on boat deck of liner Constitution in April 1956. She is travelling to Monaco to marry Prince Rainier III. (AP Photo/John Rooney)
A young Princess Elizabeth taking her pet dog for a stroll through Hyde Park, London, on Feb. 26, 1936. (AP Photo)
Queen Elizabeth II returns to London from a weekend in the country with her two pet Corgi dogs on Jan. 18, 1965. (AP Photo)
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, lifts his son Prince Harry playfully onto the back of Archy the dog of King Juan Carlos, second right, during a photo call at the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, on July 9, 1986. Prince Felipe and Queen Sofia of Spain, left and Princess Diana, Princess of Wales and her elder son Prince William watch. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II pets a Shetland pony presented to her during visit to the Shetland Islands on Aug. 11, 1960. The pony, named Valkyrie will be shipped to the royal stables at the end of September. At left background is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. (AP Photo)
Former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill gives an approving pat to his horse Colonist II after it had won the Lowther Stakes at Newmarket race-course on Oct. 12, 1950. (AP Photo/Robert Rider-Rider)
President John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy rides her pony, Macaroni, on the south grounds of the White House in Washington on March 20, 1962. (AP Photo)
Agriculture Sec. Orville Freeman tries to square away Mr. I.Q., a balky pig during picture session at the LBJ ranch in Stonewall, Texas, Nov. 21, 1964. President Lyndon Johnson stands in background with the Juhl families of Cedar Rapids, Iowa who presented the Yorkshire boar to Johnson. (AP Photo)
AP Bulletin, on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s new hamsters on Aug. 30, 1965. (AP Corporate Archives)
Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and his seven-year-old daughter, Amy, take a look at Amy's pet hamster Sleepy, before his cage is packed up in the process of moving from the Governors Mansion, Dec. 31, 1974. (AP Photo/Joe Holloway Jr.)
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pets Vice President Bush’s dog, at the Bush residence in Washington, Sept. 29, 1983. Barbara Bush, wife of the Vice President looks on at right. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, in riding attire, pets golden retriever of Jawaharlal Nehru, right, India's prime minister, at Nehru's home in New Delhi, March 14, 1962. (AP Photo)
United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt with pet dog. (British Movietone/AP Archive)
President Bill Clinton's cat Socks peers over the podium in the White House briefing room in Washington, March 19, 1994. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander)
Photo editing and text by Katherine O’Mara