King Charles and Queen Camilla bestow royal title on Guernsey’s rare goat breed

The King and Queen have bestowed a royal title on a rare breed of goat during their visit to Guernsey.

The Golden Guernsey Goat, classed as “at risk” on the Rare Breeds Watchlist, has been renamed the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat, marking the first time the protected title has been given to livestock.

Royal titles are granted sparingly and only on the advice of the Cabinet Office, with strict standards applied.

The title will also apply to all Golden Guernseys on the island and across the world.

To mark the moment, an engraved brass goat bell on a collar was placed around the neck of Summerville Tamsin, an 8-year-old female Golden Guernsey Goat, at Les Cotils, a Christian community centre.

Owner Rebecca Martin, said: “It will give a much higher recognition of the breed, and will hopefully safeguard their future, and raise their profile, not just nationally but internationally too.”

Martin’s 9-year-old son, Joe, carried the brass goat bell on a cushion.

During their visit to the island, their first since 2012, the royal couple will also watch some traditional Guernsey dancing, take a look at some Guernsey willow fishing baskets used for crabbing as well as a local style of hand-finished woollen jumper called a “Guernsey”.

The King also sampled a new craft beer named in his honour on Guernsey, joking that he had better not have too much.

The monarch was encouraged to have a sip of the beer, called Charles, by the local Little Big Brew Company to mark the Coronation.

“If you’re tempted, Sir?” said the Bailiff.

The King asked when it was brewed and whether much had been sold before taking a sip.

“I’d better not have too much,” he said.

He then gestured to the watching media, saying: “I’m sure they’re all dying for some.”

The Queen joked: “They’re queuing up.”

Camilla, who turns 77 on Thursday, was given some vintage cheddar for her birthday by Guernsey Dairy, while the King revealed he has been growing potatoes on seaweed in Scotland and chatted to locals in French

At a tea party held in their honour, the King will meet the daughters of Peter Voute, the Royal Navy captain who taught the young Prince Charles to fly helicopters in 1974.

Voute, who died in March aged 85, once said that the future King was one of the most natural flyers he had ever taught.

Meanwhile, the Queen will tour Hauteville House, where Victor Hugo lived during his exile in Guernsey.

Built on the heights of Saint Peter Port, the house was where Hugo wrote many masterpieces, including much of Les Misérables, Toilers of the Sea, and The Man Who Laughs.

The King and Queen’s arrival on Guernsey, from Jersey where they spent the night, was marked with a 21-gun salute.

The King presided over a short outdoor sitting of the States of Deliberation, the island’s parliament, featuring a fanfare, two verses of the National Anthem and the Lord’s Prayer delivered in French.

Historic title-holders known as Seigneurs and Dames of small parcels of land known as ‘Fiefs’, will pay homage to the King by clasping his hands before presenting some ceremonial silver spurs.

The King expressed thanks for the warm welcome extended to him and his wife and thanked the people of Guernsey for their loyalty to the Crown.

“My wife and I have many happy memories of the welcome we received in 2012 when we were last in the Bailiwick to mark my late mother’s Diamond Jubilee,” he said.

“We were fortunate to meet so many islanders on that occasion and to see so clearly the great regard and affection for Her late Majesty from the people of the Bailiwick. We are delighted to be able to return once again and we look forward to meeting more people from the wonderful islands which comprise this Bailiwick.

“I know that this area holds special meaning for many reasons, as it is very close to where the liberating troops were so eagerly welcomed by the populace in 1945 as they freed the islands from wartime Occupation. It is also where, with pride and joy, many people here today welcomed the competitors when you hosted the Island Games last year.

“The Bailiwick has one of the oldest connections to the Crown. It is therefore a great joy to be here among you once more today to celebrate the close and special relationship which connects us.”