Queen Camilla's Rescue Dog Beth Dies, Royal Family Announces: 'Brought Such Joy'

Buckingham Palace has announced that Queen Camilla's rescue dog Beth has died.

The palace shared the news on social media on Nov. 18, featuring a tender tribute and carousel of photos of the Queen, 77, with her pet.

"A sad farewell to Beth, The Queen’s much-loved companion from @Battersea Dogs and Cats Home who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties, or curled up by the fire," the Queen's team wrote with a paw print emoji.

PEOPLE understands that Beth had an untreatable tumor and had to be put down over the weekend.

The Instagram post opened with a smiling shot of Queen Camilla walking Beth, a Jack Russell Terrier she adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in South London in 2011. It rolled to show other photos of them together through the years, including with Bluebell, Queen Camilla's second rescue Jack Russell Terrier who she adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2012.

It continued to an undated image of King Charles squatting in the grass, where Beth hopped up to touch his nose. The tribute closed with a video of Beth assisting Camilla with the royal duty of unveiling a plaque at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2020, tugging off the curtain with her teeth, which made Camilla laugh.

In 2016, Queen Elizabeth made the future Queen Camilla patron of Battersea Cats and Dogs, a touching connection to the rescue from which she adopted her dogs and has visited through the years. The Jack Russell Terriers clearly hold a special place in Camilla's heart, as she has included the dogs in official portraits and even incorporated them into her coronation outfit. When King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in 2023, the Queen had a doodle of her beloved pups embroidered near the trim of her gown by designer Bruce Oldfield, along with the names of her children and grandchildren.

Prince Harry wrote about Queen Camilla's passion for protecting rescue animals in his memoir Spare, published in 2023. In his memoir, the Duke of Sussex reflected on the first time he introduced his then-girlfriend and future wife, Meghan Markle, to his father Charles and Camilla. 

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Prince Harry, 40, wrote about how they had tea together in 2016, and said a conversation about "Things We All Like" segued "straight to dogs." Harry wrote that Meghan shared the stories of her own rescue dogs, Guy and Bogart, describing Guy's story as "particularly sad" as he was rescued from a kill shelter in Kentucky.

"I watched Camilla's face dark. She was the patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, so these stories always hit her hard. Pa too," Prince Harry wrote in Spare, referencing King Charles by the name that he and his brother Prince William call him.