SOLVED. YA or MG fantasy; prince who can talk to animals meets princess with a dog companion (spoilers) [s]

[Sophie]

So I read this YA or MG fantasy novel probably around 2011-2014, but I think the book itself is older. It's about this prince who can talk to animals, and I think his name might be George? He meets this brash princess who has a big (maybe black) dog as her companion, and the dog is strangely smart (e.g. helps the princess win a chess match against her father), and the prince can't communicate with the dog like he can with other animals.

Okay, I feel like I can't really describe what happens without spoiling it, so here's the ending:


So it turns out that the dog and the princess actually switched bodies, and the girl is in the dog's body and vice versa. There's some kind of magical bear involved in the story. The prince helps the dog and the princess switch back with a spell - I think the man has to love the dog and the girl has to love the bear. Since the prince felt like he could love the princess and the dog felt like she could love the bear, the spell worked and the girl switched back with her dog. The dog elopes with the bear and the princess and prince are left alone.

That's all I remember about the plot. I know that the novel is a part of a series of similar fantasies involving animals and magic. Thanks in advance!

[Angela]

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison? From Kirkus:

"Like a tale spun out over many winter evenings, this moves at a stately pace, and even its climax is measured. It begins with the story of King Richon and the Wild Man, and how the king became a bear. His descendant, the young Prince George, shares with his mother the ability to understand animal speech and lives, which is forbidden in the kingdom. When the queen dies, George is left with his secret and the burden of feeling he cannot be as good a king as his father. When George is betrothed to a neighboring princess who is always accompanied by her dog , it takes him a long time to tease out the relationship between the princess and her hound, despite his gift. The author ably delineates the power of the forest and its creatures and explores the difficulty of how to know another, even one's father or one's betrothed. Not for readers who want fast pacing or strong action, but still a well-told tale. (Fantasy. 12-14) (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2007)"

[Sophie]

Yes! That's it exactly. Thank you so much!