Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, many royal fans have been wondering what will happen to the Queen’s corgis.
It’s been confirmed Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York will take on Muick and Sandy, the two royal dogs remaining.
Fergus and Muick were given to the Queen by the Duke of York last year to help ease the burden of lockdown, and the ill health of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Queen receives the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, during an audience in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle, with one of the corgis in 2018
Sandy came as a 95th birthday present from Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Sandy was gifted after Fergus, a dorgi, passed away only at five months-old, shortly after the death of Prince Philip.
The dogs have found a home with Andrew and Sarah, who live together, although divorced, at Royal Lodge in Windsor, once home to the Queen Mother.
A source close to Prince Andrew told the BBC: ‘The corgis will return to live at Royal Lodge with the Duke and Duchess. It was the Duchess who found the puppies which were gifted to Her Majesty by the Duke.
‘The Duchess bonded with Her Majesty over dog walking and riding horses, and even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty, by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting.’
Over the Queen’s lifetime, she owned more than 30 corgis. Most of her corgis descended from her first, Susan, an 18th birthday gift from her father, George VI. Such was the close bond between the Royal and her dog, when Princess Elizabeth ventured on her honeymoon with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, Susan even accompanied them. The last corgi to descend from Susan died in 2018.
The Queen pictured with her corgis. (Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi)
Some of her previous corgis were called: Whisky, Sherry, Sugar, Myth, Mint, Buzz, Brush, Geordie, Smoky, Dash, Dime, Disco and Dipper. The dogs slept in their own room in wicker baskets lined with cushions.
Her corgis even featured in The Queen’s James Bond sketch for the London 2012 Olympics: James Bond (Daniel Craig) wandered about the corridors of Buckingham Palace in search of Her Majesty, and was followed by corgis.
In 2015, the Queen reportedly stopped breeding corgis because she didn’t want to leave any behind after she dies.
The Queen is also credited with introducing the dorgi, a cross between her corgi, Tiny, and Princess Margaret’s dachshund, Pipkin. She was so thrilled with the pups that followed, so she decided to breed more over the years.
