A medium-sized dog with unbrushed hair, an off-white coat and no interest in theatrics has quietly become the most imposing figure on the internet.

He does not bark, chase or posture. Instead, he just trots over and places a paw (sometimes two) on whatever loudmouth is disrupting the pack's peace.

Within seconds, the chaos subsides. Clips of this dog have been reposted thousands of times this month, largely accompanied by reverent nicknames and fascinated attempts to understand his aura. His given name is 长毛 (Changmao), but online, he's simply known as "King Charles."

Here's how the shaggy Chinese dog wound up the subject of memes and other discourse on the internet.

Who Is The Chinese Alpha Dog That Quietly Dominates His Packmates?

The videos originate from a Douyin account called 胡子大叔爱犬部落, or "Uncle Beard Dog Tribe," run by a Chinese man who describes dog-raising as a hobby. With 76,000 followers and 800,000 likes as of May 22nd, 2025, the page mostly features group dynamics among dogs at what appears to be a shelter or private kennel.

One dog, named Changmao ("long hair"), consistently takes center stage in the Uncle Beard Dog Tribe. He's medium-sized, shaggy, and typically walks up to barking and misbehaving dogs with zero urgency.

When the troublemakers spot the Boss, they immediately lie down and go belly up. Changmao gently places his paws on them. No biting, barely any growling, Changmao seemingly rules through sheer willpower.

A video of him calming a dog on May 18th, 2025, earned over 350,000 likes on Douyin in four days, marking one of his first viral moments.

But Changmao didn't earn the nickname "King Charles" until his videos appeared on Instagram user @newlu_princess's page. The user began reposting Uncle Beard's Douyin videos en masse in late May 2025, gathering millions of views on videos that described Changmao as "King Charles," a strict but fair ruler of a ragtag doggy tribe.

How Did Videos of King Charles Spread on the Internet?

After @newlu_princess introduced "King Charles" to Instagram on May 19th, other accounts followed suit not long after.

On May 20th, they posted another clip, this time of Charles forgiving a repentant barker and allowing him a brief snout-lick, gaining over 19 million views and 900,000 likes.

Over on X / Twitter, user @Mericamemed posted a clip on May 20th showing Charles neutralizing a confrontation. The caption, "Cane corso: *bows* my liege," earned 60,000 likes.

@SavinTheBees quoted it the next day, writing, "need to know what buddy do to have insane aura like that," which attracted more than 300,000 likes in a couple of days.

On May 21st, the Spanish-language meme account @SuperViiral compiled a thread, titled “EL PERRO CON MÁS AURA del mundo,” which quickly reached 270,000 likes. By this point, no translation was needed. Aura, apparently, is a universal trans-species language.

🧵 EL PERRO CON MÁS AURA del mundo : HILO CON TODOS SUS VÍDEOS pic.twitter.com/nlJoztvnrz

— LO + VIRAL (@SuperViiral) May 21, 2025

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For the full history of King Charles, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.