On a visit to the island of Guernsey with the Queen, King Charles officially named the Golden Guernsey Goat as the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat.
This rare breed, once hidden from the Nazis to ensure its survival, now holds a prestigious royal title.
During the ceremony, King Charles enlisted the help of local schoolboy Joe Martin, aged nine, to place an engraved brass bell around the neck of Summerville Tamsin, an eight-year-old Golden Guernsey goat.
Joe explained to The Mirror that he had washed ‘Tam Tam’, as he calls her, with Head and Shoulders conditioner the day before to make sure she was as silky as possible.
Joe's mother, Rebecca, expressed her excitement over the new royal title, adding, “It will give much higher recognition to the breed and will hopefully safeguard their future.”
From now on, the breed will be known as the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat.
Royal titles are granted sparingly and only on the advice of the Cabinet Office, with strict standards applied.
A Unique History
The dairy breed, distinguished by its golden skin and brown hair, has a history dating back 200 years.
The Golden Guernsey goats were thought to have died out before Miriam Milbourne rediscovered the breed in the 1920s. Milbourne hid them in her home during the Nazi occupation of the island in the 1940s to ensure their survival. She then began a feeding program in the 1950s to help preserve the breed.
After the ceremony, Charles commented, “You’ve got to keep it all going. I hear there is interest on the mainland too, which is wonderful.”
