The cavalier king charles spaniel breed is an old breed but it is also a comparatively new breed.  The breed we know today is less than 100 years old.

Often referred to as the Comforter Spaniel, they were a favorite of the lords and ladies of the Tudor period.  The little dogs gained favor for their gay temperaments as companions but also for keeping their owners bed warm in the cold damp English weather.

By the mid 1800’s the breed had been changed and it no longer resembled the spaniel with a longer nose and high ear set.

In the 1920’s the breed had all but lost its original look.  An American, Roswell Eldgridge went to England in search of the old type “nosey spaniels.  For five years Eldgridge offered a 25 pound prize at Crufts for the longer nosed spaniels of the King Charles II’s time.  In 1927 a dog named Ann’s Son won the prize and a standard for the breed was written with him as the model.  Thus the breed’s revival was launched.

In 1952 the first cavaliers were sent to America and in 1956 the cavalier king charles Spaniel Club-USA was formed.  Once the breed gained popularity and numbers in the US, AKC assigned them to the miscellaneous class to be shown.  In 1993 the parent club, The American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was formed and in 1996 the breed was given full recognition by AKC and assigned to the toy group.