8 pictures of two baby King colobus monkeys at Blackpool Zoo who have a right royal connection

The first tiny King colobus monkey to be born has been called Charles in honour of His Majesty’s coronation on Saturday May 6.

And there is another, smaller baby colubus born since who could be named Camilla, if she turns out to be a female.

No decision has yet been made about the name, if the tiny baby is revealed to be a boy!

Blackpool Zoo is home to 11 of the endangered species after the recent birth of the youngsters.

Mum, Taragi, and dad, Limbali, are experienced parents and the babies will be carried round by mum for up to four months before they start to explore their home and get to know the troop.

King colobus monkeys are part of the European Endangered Breeding Programme (EEP) and Blackpool is just one of nine zoos across Europe to house a collection.

Luke Minns, Section Manager of Mammals at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We were delighted to welcome these babies to our King colobus troop.

“We wanted to do something special to mark the coronation of King Charles III and the fact that the babies are ‘King’ colobus monkeys it seemed like a natural fit.

“We hope King Charles III will be pleased to know that we have named this very special baby after him as we know he is an animal lover.”

The King colobus is a species of Old World monkey that is found in lowland and mountain rainforests in a region stretching from Senegal, through Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to the Ivory Coast.

In the wild, numbers have declined over the last few decades, mainly due to hunting and a decline in its forested habitat.