General Appearance
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is an active, graceful, well-balanced toy spaniel, very gay and free in action; fearless and sporting in character, yet at the same time gentle and affectionate.  It is this typical gay temperament, combined with true elegance and royal appearance, which are the paramount importance in the breed.  Natural appearance with no trimming, sculpting or artificial alteration is essential to breed type.

Size
Height is to be 12-13 inches at the withers; weight proportionate to height, between 13 and 18 pounds.  A small well-balanced dog within these weights is desirable but these are ideal heights and weights and slight variations are permissible.

Proportion
The body approaches squareness, yet if measured from point of shoulder to point of buttock, is slightly longer than the height at the withers.  The height from the withers to elbow is approximately equal to the height from elbow to ground.

Substance
Bone is moderate in proportion to size.  Weedy and coarse specimens are to be equally penalized.

Head
Proportionate to size of dog, appearing neither too large nor too small for the body.

Expression
The sweet, gentle, melting expression is an important breed characteristic.

Eyes
Large, round, but not prominent and set well apart; color a warm, very dark brown; giving a lustrous, limpid look.  Rims dark.  There should be cushioning under the eyes, which contributes to the soft expression.  faults-small, almond-shaped prominent or light eyes; white surrounding ring.

Ears
Set high, but not close, on top of the head.  Leather long with plenty of feathering and wide enough so that when the dog is alert, the ears fan slightly forward to frame the face.

Skull
Slightly rounded, but without dome or peak; it should appear flat because of the high placement of the ears.  Stop is moderated, neither filled nor deep.

Muzzle
Full muzzle slightly tapered.  Length from base of stop to tip of nose about 1 1/2 inches.  Face well filled below eyes.  Any tendency toward snipiness undesirable.  Nose pigment uniformly black without flesh marks and nostrils well developed.

Lips
Lips are well developed but not pendulous, giving a clean finish. faults-sharp or pointed muzzle.

Bite
A perfect, regular and complete scissors bite is preferred, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square into the jaws.  faults-undershot bite, weak or crooked teeth, crooked jaws.

Neck
Fairly long, without throatiness, well enough muscled to form a slight arch at the crest.  Set smoothly into nicely sloping shoulders to give an elegant look.

Topline
Level both when moving and standing.

Body
Short-coupled with ribs well sprung but not barreled.  Chest moderately deep, extending to elbows, allowing ample heart room.  Slightly less body at the flank than at the last rib, but with no tucked-up appearance.

Tail
Well set-on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back, and in constant characteristic motion when the dog is in action.  Docking is optional.  If docked, no more than one third to be removed. 

Forequarters
Shoulders well laid back.  Forelegs straight and well under the dog with elbows close to the sides.  Pasterns strong and feet compact with well-cushioned pads. Dewclaws may be removed.

Hindquarters
The hindquarters construction should come down from a good broad pelvis, moderately muscled; stifles well turned and hocks well let down.  The hind legs when viewed from the rear should parallel each other from hock to heel.  faults-Cow or sickle hocks.

Coat
Moderate length, silky, free from curl.  Slight wave permissible.  Feathering on ears, chest, legs and tail should be long, and the feathering on the feet is a feature of the breed.  No trimming of the dog is permitted.  Specimens where the coat has been altered by trimming, clipping, or by artificial means shall be so severley penalized as to effectively eliminate from competition. Hair growing between the pads on the underside of the feet may by trimmed.

Color
Blenheim-Rich chestnut markings well broken up on a clear pearly white ground.  The ears must be chestnut and the color evenly spaced on the head surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes and ears, in the center of which may be the lozenge or "Blenheim spot".  The lozenge is a unique and desirable, though not essential characteristic of the Blenheim.
Tricolor- Jet-black markings well broken up on a clear pearly white ground.  The ears must be black and the color evenly spaced on the head and surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes.  Rich tan markings over the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears and on the underside of the tail.
Ruby-Whole colored rich red. 
Black and Tan-Jet-black with rich, bright tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs and underside of tail.
faults-Heavy ticking on Blenheims and Tricolors, white marks on Rubies or Black and Tans.

Temperment
Gay, friendly, non-aggressive with no tendency toward nervousness or shyness.  Bad temper, shyness and meanness are not to be tolerated and are to be so severely penalized as to effectively remove the specimen from competition.