Corgis are undeniably synonymous with the Queen and were undoubtedly Her Majesty's favourite breed of dog. Corgis were in her life from being a little girl and she surrounded herself with them ever since, owning over 30 since becoming Queen.
But what will happen to the Queen's dogs after her death?
A history of the Queen's corgis
The Queen's love for corgis dates back to when she was just 7-years-old when her father, King George VI, brought home a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Dookie. She fell in love with the breed so much that she grew up to get many more including Jane and Susan who joined the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their honeymoon.
All of the corgis she bred after this descended from Susan and over the years, they've had some pretty interesting names...
• Dookie
• Jane
• Susan
• Rozavel Sue
• Whisky
• Sherry
• Sugar
• Honey
• Heather
• Tiny
• Bushy
• Foxy
• Brush
• Monty
• Emma
• Linnet
• Willow
• Holly
The corgis were that famous that Helen Mirren starred alongside a number in her 2006 film, the Queen and also, who could forget when the Queen and her corgis appeared in a James Bond sketch to celebrate the Olympics!
It's not just Corgis she loved
In 2007, the Queen owned five corgis: Monty, Emma, Linnet, Willow, and Holly; five cocker spaniels: Bisto, Oxo, Flash, Spick, and Span; and four dorgis (Corgi/Dachshund): Cider, Berry, Vulcan, and Candy.
The dorgi hybrid started when one of Queen Elizabeth's corgis mated with a Dachshund, Pipkin, belonging to Princess Margaret!
The future of her Corgis
Her final corgi, Willow, died in April of 2018, leaving her with dorgi's Vulcan and Candy. Sadly, after Vulcan's passing in 2020, she is left with just Candy.
The Queen made the decision to stop breeding her dogs in 2015, so that her pets wouldn't outlive her as she didn't like the thought of leaving any behind after she died.
During the very sad time her late husband Prince Philip was in hospital, the Queen was gifted two dorgi puppies but tragically, one of the puppies died after a short illness.
Her Majesty was given another puppy in June by son Prince Andrew and granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, on what would have been Philip’s one-hundredth birthday.
At her death, the Queen left behind three dogs but we have no doubt that she made a plan for their lives after her passing.
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