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Another royal wedding looms. That means that many of us will stay at home, glued to the TV, not wanting to miss any of the action when Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018 at Windsor Castle.
But one royal-loving dog-owner has taken celebrations to the next level, by building a £5,000 dog kennel based on Windsor Castle so that her pampered pooch can watch the regal nuptials in style.
The lucky mutt is Archie, a ten-year-old Lhasa Apso and his owner is Susan Crossland, 53, who commissioned the two-metre, hand-painted kennel, so that Archie can kick back in comfort and watch the action beamed live from St George’s Chapel at the real Windsor Castle.
A Lhasa Apso celebrating the Royal Wedding
Mrs Crossland, who lives in West Yorkshire, said: "I love royal weddings and I love the royals."
Mrs Crossland commissioned specialist sculptors The Russell Beck Studio from south London to design and build the pooch palace.
The seven-strong team spent over 200 hours building the 6.5ft by 6.5ft dog house, based on Windsor Castle’s King George IV Gate. The kennel weighs 155kg and required more than 15 litres of paint.
Designer Russell Beck said, "This was my very first request for a pooch palace."
Fortunately for Mrs Crossland, paying for the new structure wasn’t an issue. That’s because Susan and her husband Michael, 49, won the lottery in 2008. On the anniversary of her dad’s death, she used his numbers to scoop £1.2 million, a win she described as ‘heaven-sent’.
Mrs Crossland said: "I just thought it might be a bit quirky to have something nice for Archie, so I had him a Windsor Castle made and he absolutely loves it. He's my dog at the end of the day. Why not spoil your dog?"
On the day of the big event, Mrs Crossland will be hosting a barbecue, while Archie potters around in his new kennel, which sits in the Crosslands’ back garden.
The inspiration for a mini Windsor Castle kennel The inspiration for a mini Windsor Castle kennel
Mrs Crossland said: “We have been preparing our veranda, getting out the flags and buying lots of red, white and blue trimmings in recognition of the big day.
“Archie is obviously a big part of the family, so we couldn’t have him missing out.”
