Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn had a lapdog named Purkoy, which came from the French ‘pourquoi’, meaning ‘why?’. The little dog was originally given to Sir Francis Bryan, Anne’s cousin, by Lady Lisle as a New Year’s gift.

It seems as soon as Anne met little Purkoy, she fell in love with him, and Bryan ended up passing the gift on to the queen. He wrote to Lord Lisle on January 20, 1534, asking him to thank his wife for the gift but explaining what had happened:

"…it may please your Lordship to give her hearty thanks on my behalf for her little dog, which was so proper and so well liked by the Queen that it remained not above an hour in my hands but that her Grace took it from me."

It is not known what kind of dog Purkoy was—perhaps a toy spaniel or toy poodle.

Unfortunately, Anne’s beloved Purkoy was killed in an accident just a few months later. Falling to his death from a window. Because of her great love for Purkoy, none of her ladies or attendants wanted to be the ones to tell her, so it was left to the King to break the news.

By all accounts, she was devastated upon hearing of the incident.

Anne Boleyn also had a greyhound. Although it is often said that her greyhound was called Urian, the exact name is unknown for sure; it was given to her by the brother of William Brereton. In Henry VIII’s Privy Purse Expenses, there is a record of a farmer being paid 10 shillings for a cow that had been killed by two greyhounds, one of which belonged to Anne. While common pets at the time, Anne was known to dislike monkeys and peacocks.

(Previous experience has taught me I need to add that this portrait is a mock up and does not portray any reality)

Sources:

Lisle Letters, Volume 2, p21-22, letter 109

The Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII, p74