The little dog

A puppy is snuggled up on the chair in the foreground, his head resting on the arm. It seems as though the young prince has just been playing with him; his pose suggests that he is a friend and playmate to little Philip.

The dog is a symbol of loyalty and alertness. Like the amulets, he is supposedly there to watch over the young successor. But the animal on the chair, seemingly full of vitality, has another function - the artist uses his presence to emphasise the sickly, fragile state of the heir to the throne.