Mackenzie King Sang hymns for his dead Irish terrier Toronto - Canada's wartime prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who received the Order of Merit, one of Britain's highest honors, from King George VI in 1947, wrote in his diary he thought his dog was far more deserving of the honor than he. The late prime minister's obsessive affection with his Irish terrier - he revealed he sang hymns over its dead body and consoled himself with the thought he would be reunited with the dog in the next life - was divulged in diaries opened to the public this week in accordance with the decision of his executors that they be opened after 30 years.

Photo is dated 1978.

Photo measures 7 x 9.5 inches.