King Charles Meets a Surprising VIP Guest at Garden Party

King Charles tipping his hat at a garden party — (Image credit: Getty Images)

King Charles kicked off garden party season at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, May 6, celebrating the third anniversary of his coronation with members of the Royal Family and hundreds of guests. Royal garden parties honor members of the British public who serve their communities, and during the first party of 2026, The King, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne received an extra-warm greeting from one special guest.

In footage shared on Instagram, The King takes time greeting attendees as he walks down a line of people, stopping to pay extra attention to a service dog named Vegas. The monarch bent over to pet the sweet brown cocker spaniel from the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity as he chatted with the dog’s owner, Kate Wilson. “They do hearing dogs too, now? Marvellous," he said, per GB News.

Vegas jumped up enthusiastically on The King’s legs, and he seemed so enamored with the dog that one impatient garden party guest exclaimed, “Your Majesty, we’re waiting over here!”

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King Charles petting a dog jumping on his legs at a garden party — King Charles meets hearing dog Vegas at a garden party on May 6.

King Charles meeting a dog
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Princess Anne meeting a dog at a garden party — Princess Anne also spent time with Vegas.

Vegas also met with Queen Camilla as well as Princess Anne, who serves as patron of the hearing dogs charity. The Princess Royal asked if Vegas took such a liking to “everyone or is it just me?” as she gave lots of attention to the dog.

Speaking of Princess Anne, Vegas's owner, Kate Wilson said, “She’s a wonderful lady with all the work she does. I'm a teacher and having Vegas has changed everything for me.”

Wilson said that Vegas “can alert me to things that are going on or alarms going off. And it means my son can leave me alone without worrying. It’s been life-changing.”

“She does jump up a little but everyone took it in their stride,” Wilson said, and it seems like dog lovers Anne, Charles and Camilla certainly did.

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.