The Darlington man who led the king's favourite dog at the monarch's funeral

They must have felt that they were very special dogs to play a part in such a momentous state occasion.

Muick and Sandy, the Queen's corgis, await the funeral procession at Windsor Castle on Monday

But they were just bit part players compared to Caesar (above), who was King Edward VII’s favourite Wire Fox Terrier. Caesar walked alongside the gun carriage bearing his master’s body, and was ahead of the leaders of 70 nations, including nine kings. Caesar was ahead of King George V, the new king of Great Britain, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire, who was not best pleased at being up-staged by a dog.

And Caesar’s handler who walked alongside him was the son of a Darlington stationmaster.

He was Lawrence Freville Wrightson (above, on the right with Caesar), whose great-niece, Dorothy Lincoln, has alerted us to this extraordinary piece of royal history.

Lawrence’s grandfather, John, was the legendary landlord of the Sun Inn, Darlington’s premier meeting place next to Joseph Pease’s statue, and his father, Francis, was the stationmaster at Piercebridge for 25 years.

Eleanor and Francis Wrightson, plus a young member of their family, outside Piercebridge station. Below: as the same building looks today

Lawrence was one of 10 children who grew up in the village. Most of his brothers went to work on the railway, but Lawrence went into service at Raby Castle. One day in 1902 when the king was visiting the north, all of his staff went down with influenza and a call went out to the stately homes for replacements.

Lawrence stepped forward, and he so hit it off with His Majesty that he joined his staff full time, becoming his personal attendant.

Lawrence Wrightson is directly behind the king's left shoulder, although it does appear as if several of the faces have been superimposed behind the king

In 1903, when the king was visiting Wynyard Hall, Lawrence mentioned that his mother lived nearby, in Low Coniscliffe, so an invitation was telegrammed to her to join them. “The king received Mrs Wrightson in the Statue Gallery,” said the Darlington & Stockton Times, “and at once placing her at ease with his customary charming grace, conversed with her for a short while.”

Lawrence Wrightson, with the medals he received from Edward VII

Caesar joined the king’s operation at around the same time as Lawrence, and he too became a firm favourite with his pesky antics – he would dash about the royal yacht, and, when visiting foreign monarchs, he would sneak out and chase their rabbits and peafowl.

Edward was so fond of him that he had a Faberge figurine made of him, which features rubies and gold.

In his final days, the king asked Lawrence to take on Caesar when he died, and Lawrence was with him in Buckingham Palace as he passed away shortly before midnight on May 6, 1910.

The body of King Edward VII - Lawrence Wrightson was with him when he died

Caesar was outside the door, pining away, and trying to slip in whenever he could – the Queen Alexandra, who did not appreciate the dog, was most annoyed to find Caesar skulking under the bed beneath the king’s body.

The Darlington & Stockton Times reported how Lawrence Wrightson was with the king when he died in 1910

Caesar and Lawrence were part of the solemn procession that followed the coffin from the palace to Westminster Hall for the lying in state, and they featured in the funeral procession on May 20, 1910, which walked from the hall up The Mall to Paddington Station, with an estimated 3m to 5m people watching. A train took them to Windsor Castle, where Edward is buried beneath an effigy of himself which shows Caesar lying at his feet in stone.

After the funeral, Lawrence didn’t get to keep Caesar, though, because Edward's widow, Alexandra, decided she couldn’t let him go. She fed Caesar titbits to make up for the king’s strict diet, and Caesar died aged 16 in 1914. He is buried in Marlborough House, Alexandra’s home in Westminster, beneath his own headstone.

After the king’s death, Lawrence became an usher in the House of Lords. He retired to Canvey Island where he died in 1948.

A train arrives at Piercebridge station from Barnard Castle. The half-timbered stationmaster's house on the left still stands as a private residence, but everything else has gone