Palace Historian Antonia Keaney sits down with GBF to discuss the nature in which spaniels are central to British canine history. From Elizabeth I to Charles II, the beloved toy spaniels thrived in Court. The foremost proponents of the breed were the owners and original inhabitants of Blenheim Palace, friends to Queen Anne, the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, John and Sarah Churchill (also recognized as the couple at the center of the 2018 Oscar nominated The Favourite).  For over 150 years, the Marlborough family bred and kept Cavalier King Charles Spaniels at Blenheim and can even be connected to supplying the kennel that preserved the breed from extinction during WWII.