Unexpected members of the royal family have criminal records

It is not often that we hear of “criminal records” in connection with members of the Royal Family, but it turns out that there is actually only one British royal with a criminal record. A new biography of Queen Elizabeth II by Craig Brown, “Q: The Voyage of the Queen,” reveals the story behind the surprising culprit.

Of course, Queen Elizabeth was known for her love of corgis, and Brown recounts many episodes in the book concerning her pack of dogs. But he also recounts an unfortunate incident involving Dotty, one of Princess Anne's puppies. [In April 2002, the Princess took Dotty for a walk in Windsor Great Park. Dotty spotted two boys, ages 12 and 7, riding bicycles,” Brown wrote, adding that the dog ”ran off after the children. [Confronted by this barking bull terrier, the two boys fell off their bicycles. Princess Anne screamed, but Dotty kept running, biting one boy's leg and collarbone and scratching the other boy's leg, back, and arm,” the royal biographer continued.

According to Brown, the children were taken to the hospital “in a traumatized state,” but neither needed stitches."

The parents of the two boys brought the princess and her husband, Tim Lowrance, to trial in the case, and the couple was charged with ”managing a dog dangerously out of control in a public place .”

Brown noted that the indictment against Admiral Lawrence was later dropped because his wife “admitted sole responsibility.” However, Princess Anne was “booked under the corrupt name of Anne Elizabeth Alice Lawrence,” according to Brown, and had to appear in Slough Magistrates' Court in November 2002.

Dotty had as a witness a dog psychologist named Dr. Roger Mugford. Apparently the Queen had consulted this doctor about her dog's problems “since 1984,” and he called the terrier “a totally calm, playful, tolerant dog” that “can be trained not to repeat offenses.” Another witness, Mr. Brown, said the royal dog “looked like a big puppy.”

However, the expert testimony was unavailing, and Princess Anne was found guilty. The judge “saved Dotty's life” (Mr. Brown), but the princess was “fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 compensation to each of the boys.” The judge noted that the children had “suffered considerably” and were so traumatized that they had “moved away from the dog altogether.”

Brown said one of the parents complained about the “lenient sentence” and said, “I don't think justice has been done. This dog is still a free man and a danger to society.”

The parents may have been on to something, but it was not Dotty who ended up being the killer; on Christmas Eve 2003, Brown reported that another one of Ann's dogs had badly injured Pharos, one of Queen Elizabeth's corgis, and had to be destroyed the next day. He pointed out that the next day he had to dispose of it.