The Queen Consort will appear in a one-off special of Paul O’Grady’s hit TV show 'For The Love Of Dogs' to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home tonight.

The festive episode will see Camilla, patron and long-term advocate of the animal welfare charity, hosting a garden party at Clarence House.

Later in the hour-long TV special, the royal will join Mr O'Grady, who lives in Aldington near Ashford, at Battersea’s Brands Hatch site in Kent.

The episode, which was filmed during her previous role as the Duchess of Cornwall, will see the Queen Consort meet some of the abandoned dogs struggling to be rehomed and assist with their care and treatment in the hope they will find a new home before Christmas.

It's being aired on ITV to mark 160 years of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, often known simply as Battersea.

The animal rescue centre was established in Holloway in 1860 by Mary Tealby, who called it “The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs”.

Initially, The Times ran a story ridiculing the idea of opening a home for dogs when there were homeless people in London.

But Tealby’s work eventually won many admirers, notably Charles Dickens, who wrote about a “remarkable institution” that had saved over a thousand dogs in 1860.

In 1885, Queen Victoria became patron of the home, and it has remained under royal patronage ever since.

To mark its 150th anniversary in 2010, the charity’s London Cattery was opened by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, and Royal Mail released a set of stamps featuring a series of dogs and cats that had been adopted by staff.

Last month, The Queen Consort shared details of the special relationship she has with Beth and Bluebell, two rescue Jack Russells she got from Battersea.

“Beth came from a family who could no longer care for her and poor Bluebell had been found abandoned in the woods, three weeks old, starving, covered in sores, with a docked tail and just a few patches of fur," she said.

“In the 11 years that I’ve been filming at Battersea, I’ve never known it so busy"

“Battersea nursed her back to health and I fell in love with her when I visited their brilliant centre in 2012.

“They are both colourful characters – and now I cannot imagine my life, my home or my sofas without them.”

The Queen Consort is now a patron of Battersea and she joins Paul, recently made Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, at the charity's Brands Hatch site in Kent to celebrate the special anniversary.

Together they meet some of the dogs struggling to be rehomed and assist with their treatment and care.

Battersea is currently incredibly busy due to an overwhelming number of dogs that are more difficult to rehome due to their older age, medical or behavioural issues.

Paul said: “In the 11 years that I’ve been filming at Battersea, I’ve never known it so busy.

“What’s worrying is, there are a lot of dogs in here who would be classed as hard to home. Dogs with disabilities, blind dogs, you name it, we’ve got them in here at the moment.”