Established by King Edward VII in 1879 to house 100 dogs, the Sandringham kennels and the labradors which are bred there have become firm favourites of the Royal Family.

The Queen takes a very great interest in the Sandringham kennels. Since her accession to the throne in 1952, the breeding programme has gone from strength to strength, culminating in the training of five Field Trial Champions.

All the puppies born at Sandringham are named by The Queen and are registered at the Kennel Club with the prefix Sandringham.

The kennels now house approximately twenty fully grown dogs of varying ages, including labradors and cocker spaniels. These range from the older and more experienced gundogs used by members of the Royal Family during the shooting season, to the younger dogs under training as gundogs.

In addition to providing dogs for the Royal Family, the Estate gamekeepers are supplied with working Labradors and spaniels.