Frogmore House was named for the abundance of frogs in the low-lying marshes around it, and what a sound they must have made at night!

One can image the chorus of croaks lulling to sleep the families of Queens Charlotte and Victoria, the Duchess of Kent, Princess Helena and her husband Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Albert Victor, and the future King George V and Queen Mary.

The 17th-century English country house situated half a mile from Windsor Castle is presently owned by the Crown Estate, a collection of lands and assets owned by the reigning monarch “in right of the Crown” in the United Kingdom, but the land upon which it sits was purchased by Henry VIII.

The site is notable for being the final resting place of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their remains in the Portland stone and granite mausoleum that cost close to $265,000 back in the 19th century.

We mention Frogmore House and its mausoleum for it also being the final resting place of Bosco, said to be Queen Victoria’s favorite Pug (and she had many, some 36 Pugs including Olgo, Pedro, Minka, Fatima, and Venus).

Bosco lived from 1887 to 1892, making him only five years old at the time of his death, but in his life, he was such a household favorite that his birthday (April 24th) was celebrated. Upon his death, the Queen gave Bosco his own memorial in the gardens at Frogmore with a tomb on which the epitaph reads:

“Bosco 1887-1892
“Bosco, favourite dog of their Royal Highnesses, Prince and Princesses of Battenberg”

Our image from 1883 shows the Queen with Prince Albert Victor, Princess Alix, Queen Victoria, Princess Beatrice and Princess Irene of Hesse at Balmoral along with one of her Pugs, and it may well be Bosco, but we’ve not found verification.