A local animal charity is "extremely touched" to have received a card from the King stating the monarch's interest in the cause.

The Dogs Nobody Wants Sanctuary based in Slough is dedicated to helping disabled and terminally ill dogs in the local area.

In late January the sanctuary founder Matthew Young sent King Charles a card complete with felt ornaments as a token memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

Matthew had been making Corgi felted ornaments in memory of Queen Elizabeth II since her sad passing and was then asked by a regular supporter to make a King Charles spaniel one.

The ornaments proved very popular and were sold to raise vital funds for the sanctuary.

Matthew hand-made and sent one of each dog to the King as a gift to show the sanctuary’s support to the royal family for the death of the Queen and to the new King.

On Saturday, February 18 Matthew received an unusual letter and was "delighted" to find a response from the King.

"I was surprised and delighted when I received the response, I was extremely touched and grateful that the King found the time to respond to us, and that he was genuinely interested in our dogs and what the sanctuary does," Matthew said.

The letter from Buckingham Palace said: "The King has asked me to thank you for your message and the delightful little handmade ornaments you so kindly sent following the death of his beloved mother.

"His majesty is most grateful to you for taking the trouble to write as you did, and your thoughtfulness is deeply appreciated at this time of immense sorrow.

"The King was most interested to hear about your animal sanctuary for dogs with disabilities and wishes me to send you his warmest thanks and best wishes."

An A5 card was received alongside the letter, with a picture of Charles as a young boy with his mother Queen Elizabeth.

The card is hand signed by King Charles and Matthew said it will be "treasured".

"We regularly walk the sanctuary dogs in Windsor.

"We had dressed the dogs up for the Queens Platinum Jubilee last year and took them to join in the celebrations on The Long Walk.

"We also walked up with the dogs to pay our respects and lay flowers outside Windsor Castle when the Queen died.

"We love the Royal family and it is amazing to know that King Charles took the time to acknowledge our letter.

"We will be sending him more information about the work of the sanctuary and pictures of the sanctuary residents.

"We are extremely excited to have him as one of our supporters." 

To learn more about the charity visit their Facebook page here.