The History of Queen Elizabeth's Corgis
This week, Prince Philip passed away at the age of 99. Since the age of 25, he had been married to Queen Elizabeth II, who is known for her love of corgis and corgi and dachshund mixes, AKA dorgis.
Over the past 87 years, she has been a proud pup parent to 30 different dogs. According to Marie Claire, each of the pups has had quite a pampered life and “have their own special room, where they get to dine on meals prepared by their own personal chef and have their own stockings at Christmas.” The dogs were also often taken on walks on their impressive estate by both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
The Queen’s devotion to the breed began when she was just 7 years old with her “first corgi,” Dookie. Soon after his arrival, the Windsor family got a second corgi, named Jane, who unfortunately passed away in 1944. That same year, Queen Elizabeth was given her third corgi, Susan, in celebration of her 18th birthday. The dog was the Queen's constant companion and actually went on her honeymoon. We have a feeling Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, may have been third-wheeling on that trip.
Susan is believed to be one of the Queen’s favorite dogs, and it is alleged that “every corgi she went on to breed were descendants of this OG dog from the '40s.”
In 2002, the Queen decided to no longer breed her corgis. While she has never publicly stated her reasoning to do so, professional horse trainer Monty Roberts, who has a personal relationship with the Queen, stated that “she didn’t want to leave any young dog behind” if she were to pass away.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's corgis were also reportedly not huge fans of Prince Harry or Prince William. Both of the Queen’s grandchildren have stated that the dogs barked incessantly at them. However, during an interview with the BBC, Harry claimed that the pups “took to [his wife Meghan Markle] straight away.”
Photo by Peter Pryharski on Unsplash
The Quee had three dorgis at the time of her death called Fergus, Muick, and Candy. We know that they will be well taken care of and were likely well planned for by such an incredible dog mom and trailblazing woman. Queen Elizabeth thank you for showing us that dogs connect all of us and RIP.
Photo gallery curated from various internet publications and sources including: Getty Images, Associated Press, AFP, PA, Alamy, National Portrait Gallery of London