17 photos of the royals' sweetest and funniest moments with dogs, koalas and more animals

The royal family meet hundreds of people during their public engagements, and sometimes even get the opportunity to become acquainted with some winged and four-legged friends.

HELLO! has searched through the archives to find some of the royals' most adorable and funniest encounters with animals, including dogs, cats and more wild species.

The likes of the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Sussex are also renowned animal lovers and own their own pets.

In June 2021, the monarch was completely unfazed as a bee landed on her beautiful bouquet of flowers, during her visit to Scotland during Royal Week.

Read on to see some of the sweetest photos of royals with animals…

READ: Royals and their adorable pet dogs

WATCH: The Duchess of Sussex fell in love with a Jack Russell called Minnie during a visit to her patronage the Mayhew animal charity in 2019. 

The Countess of Wessex was in her element as she met some playful puppies during a public outing in November 2021. Sophie visited the Guide Dogs National Centre in Leamington Spa in her role as patron, where she toured the facilities, including the laboratory, the hydrotherapy area and the puppy block.

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In September 2020, the Duchess of Cornwall got to meet pups who are being trained how to detect COVID-19 at her patronage Medical Detection Training. Camilla was particularly enamoured with a chocolate Labrador named Basil during her visit.

A then eight-month-old Prince George met his namesake in the form of a bilby at Taronga Zoo in Sydney during the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's royal tour of Australia in 2014.

MORE: Prince George and Princess Charlotte's cutest royal tour moments in photos

The Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh chuckled as they fed bananas to Donna the elephant during their visit to Whipsnade Zoo in 2017.

MORE: 9 royals who look so proud in their graduation photos

Princess Charlotte took a shining to Moose the dog during a children's party on the Cambridges' royal tour of Canada in 2016.

MORE: 16 sweet photos of Prince George and Princess Charlotte as pageboy and bridesmaid

The Duchess of Cornwall brought along some special friends in the form of reindeer to the annual children's Christmas party at Clarence House in 2018.

The Duchess of Cambridge greeted mascot Domhnall as she and William visited the Irish Guards on St Patrick's Day in 2019. Kate and the Irish wolfhound are well acquainted as she and the Duke usually visit the barracks annually.

The Cambridges' children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis even met the pooch during a polo match in 2019. 

The Duchess of Cornwall seemed a little hesitant at first to hold one of two koalas during a tour of Australia in 2012, but she and Charles were positively charmed by the rescue animals.

The Duchess of Sussex made a beeline for Bernese mountain dogs Bród and Síoda. Harry and Meghan met President Michael D. Higgins' pooches during their visit to Ireland in 2018, shortly after their wedding.

William and Kate got to feed orphaned baby rhinos during their royal tour of India in 2016. The Duchess could barely contain her joy as she got to meet the animals up close at the sanctuary.

The Duchess of Cambridge got to meet the feline star of A Street Cat Named Bob at the film premiere in 2016. Kate stroked the ginger cat as she spoke to his owner James Bowen.

Prince Harry couldn't resist taunting his older brother Prince William as they got up close with an eight foot-long python on their southern Africa tour in 2010. Their facial expressions were comedy gold as the snake was draped around their shoulders.

The Duke of Cambridge made a fuss of five-month-old Irish setter Tara, who has been trained to provide comfort to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), during his visit to Belfast in September 2020.

"This is probably very bad for their training," he joked as he played with and stroked the pup.

MORE: The most pampered pooches in Britain? A look at the Queen's corgis' menus

Kate came face to face with Sophie the corn snake during a trip to a farm in Northern Ireland in 2020. Owner Stewart Donaldson, who runs the farm, joked to The Belfast Telegraph that he had been warned beforehand that there was one particular Ark Farm resident the royal wasn't keen on meeting - a snake! But Kate showed no fear.

The Prince of Wales looked thrilled to meet Peter the blue iguana on the Cayman Islands in 2019. Charles plucked up the courage to stroke the reptile, but first asked the press "Is he dangerous?"

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