It was a battle royal today as the – and her rescue dog, Beth – took on television star Paul O’Grady and his abandoned pup, Sausage, in the ultimate canine showdown.
The two pooches went head to head in a dog training game known as ‘Temptation Alley’ in which competitors are encouraged to ignore dog treats and toys either side of them and run straight to their owner at the other end.
Camilla, 74, was at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s rural centre in Brands Hatch, Kent, in her role as the charity’s patron.
She has re-homed two Jack Russell Terriers through the organisation, Beth and her pal Bluebell – who was also present but deemed too naughty to take part.
It was a battle royal today as the Duchess of Cornwall – and her rescue dog, Beth – took on television star Paul O’Grady and his abandoned pup, Sausage, during a royal engagement in Kent (pictured)
The Duchess, who is patron of Battersea Dogs and Cat’s home, cuddled up with some kittens during her visit earlier today
Camilla was joined by the Prince of Wales for the visit to the county earlier today where they visited Sheppey Matters at Sheerness Healthy Living Centre
O’Grady is Battersea’s ambassador and was filming his hit tv show, For The Love of Dogs, in which Camilla and Beth will star.
As she walked in Camilla was delighted to see ‘Bethy’ already waiting for and made a great fuss.’What could possibly go wrong,’ she laughed, rolling her eyes.
Head of canine behaviour, Ali Taylor, positioned the dogs at one end of the room with the staff member and told the douches and O’Grady to stand at the other end ready to call their dogs.
‘Mine doesn’t speak English!’ Interjected O’Grady.’She’s from Romania and has a Polish chip!’
Philip Merricks MBE, owner of Elmley, pioneering farmer and conservationist talks with Prince Charles during a visit to Elmley Nature Reserve
The royal was given the tour by Philip Merricks MBE, Gareth Fulton, Elmley Nature Reserve Manager, and Professor Ian Newton FRS OBE, Ecology Advisor
At one stage, the Prince of Wales shared a good laugh with Philip while visiting the nature reserve today
Meanwhile the royal was handed a pair of binoculars as he peered out at the nature surrounding him during the visit
The Prince of Wales was in good spirits and could be seen sharing a laugh as he was given a tour today
Camilla and Beth went first, Camilla holding a yellow squeaky ball in her hand and encouraging Beth to run towards her.
With only a very slight detour at the beginning to collect another ball, Beth made it to her mistress – albeit on the outside of the alley.
She was given another chance and had to be dragged away from her mistress, barking in excitement as she was given the chance to run back to her.
Crouching on the ground, Camilla made a huge fuss of her.’She did well,’ O’Grady admitted.
Later, the royal requested Jools Holland be played while he was visiting a community radio station earlier today with Camilla
Then it was Sausage’s turn. She was brought down to the far end of the room but made clear, despite the presenter’s frantic squeaking of a toy pig, that she was going to make a beeline for the treats.
After hoovering up a few pieces of food, she ran over to the photographers and seemed more keen to say hello to them.
Camilla and Beth were duly handed a small trophy for their victory.
The Duchess of Cornwall also opened ‘The Making of Dickens’ exhibition, about the life of Charles Dicken, in Kent today
During her outing, she spoke with actors at the Guildhall Museum in Rochester who dressed in period costumes
Camilla toured the exhibition, which includes a number of objects owned by Dickens, including his walking stick and paperweight
The royal was invited to open the exhibition at the museum in Rocester earlier this afternoon (pictured)
‘She’s pretty good with people, just less good with other dogs,’ Camilla confessed.
Battersea Brands Hatch opened in 1999 is is used for dogs and cats that suffer from stress or anxiety in the home’s busy London centre.
It is surrounded by 12 acres of fields and has re-homed around 3,000 dogs and cats over the last five years alone.
On her arrival Camilla was greeted with a ‘Doggy Guard of Honour’ and met some of the stray dogs looking for homes.
Camilla, who adopted two of her own terriers from the organisation, could be seen chatting with staff and volunteers during the outing
