The Tibetan Mastiff was quite popular with the British royal family; King George IV was given a pair as a gift in the 19th century, and in 1847, Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy of India, sent a Mastiff named, ‘Bhout,’ to Queen Victoria. Alternately spelled, “Bout,” this Tibetan Mastiff was always described as a “Cashmere Dog,” and he lived in the kennels at Windsor Castle until his death in 1856, two years after this photo taken by William Bambridge (1810-79).

Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales, imported two more Tibetan Mastiffs, one of whom (called ‘Siring’) and was exhibited to the public at Alexandra Palace in the December of 1875.