Back in the day, the line, “It’s good to be King,” from the Mel Brook’s movie, History of the World, Part 1, was enough to generate raucous laughter, though today, we would find the relevant scenes offensive, to say nothing of dated. That said, it was pretty good to be queen, as well.

Queen Victoria, a devoted dog lover, was able to keep as many different breeds in her kennel as she desired, and that included 35 Pomeranians. She so loved the breed that on her deathbed, asked for her special Pom, “Turi,” to be at her side. It was Victoria who influenced the trend to smaller Pomeranians, and up until her ownership, Poms weighed an average of 30 pounds, large enough to pull sleds and herd animals. That changed when Victoria brought one home from a vacation in Florence, Italy, and started breeding their size down to become lapdogs (in the interest of full information, however, some say that dog that Victoria brought back was actually a Italian Volpino). In 1891, the Queen showed six of her dogs at the opening of Cruft’s, their names Fluffy, Nino, Mino, Beppo, Gilda and Lulu, and the smaller size caught on.

It’s said that the gene for bigger dogs is still present in the breed, and some breeders have reported getting a “throwback” Pom that resembles his or her larger ancestors in both size and behavior.

Image of Queen Victoria with “Turi” around 1895