"Plains Zebra," by George Stubbs

Queen Charlotte was given a live Plains Zebra (often simply called “the Queen’s Zebra”) in 1762. The animal was a diplomatic gift to her husband, George III, likely sent by the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. At the time, zebras were almost completely unknown in Britain, making it an extraordinary curiosity.

The zebra was initially kept in the paddocks at Buckingham House (the building that would later become Buckingham Palace). It was later moved to the royal menagerie at Tower of London, where exotic animals had been housed for centuries.

The zebra became famous because the artist George Stubbs was invited to paint it from life. His 1763 painting, The Zebra, is considered one of the greatest animal portraits ever created. Stubbs had never seen a zebra before, so the opportunity was remarkable, and his painting helped shape how Europeans imagined zebras for decades.

One fascinating detail: because so few Europeans had ever seen a zebra alive, many naturalists and artists relied on Stubbs’s painting as the most accurate visual reference available. It wasn’t just art—it became an important scientific record as well.