A Childhood Love

Queen Elizabeth grew up in a family that loved dogs. Her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), owned golden labradors, a Tibetan Mastiff, a golden retriever, and a cocker spaniel. But when Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret went to play with the children of a nobleman who owned corgis, they fell in love with them. So, in 1933, their parents got them a male Welsh corgi named Dookie and later a female named Jane.

News reports said the girls spent most of their leisure time brushing, exercising, and playing with the dogs. They would feed them from a dish held for them by a footman. Veterinarians regulated the dogs’ diet, and the Queen Mother would not allow them to be fed from the table. She also insisted that they sleep in wicker baskets raised off the floor to avoid draughts. When Jane had a puppy, the Queen Mother named him Crackers and kept him constantly by her side. When she retired to Scotland, he went with her.

A Birthday Present

On her 18th birthday in 1944, Elizabeth received Susan, a Pembroke corgi. Three years later, when she married Prince Philip, Susan went with them on their honeymoon to Broadlands, a country house in Hampshire, England. When Susan died, she was buried in a pet cemetery that had belonged to Queen Victoria on the Sandringham estate, where the royal family traditionally celebrated Christmas every year.

By the 1950’s, Susan had two puppies, Honey and Sugar. The Queen Mother kept Honey. Sugar, and later her two puppies, Whisky and Sherry, were pets of the queen’s children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Meanwhile, the Queen’s sister Margaret had her own corgis: Johnny and Pippin. She also had a dachshund, which they bred with one of Elizabeth’s corgis to create a “dorgi,” the first of several. Over the years, the Queen had other corgis named Heather, Tiny, Bushy, Foxy, Brush, Monty, Emma, Linnet, Willow, and Holly, to name a few.

“My corgis are family”

The Queen said in no uncertain terms, “My corgis are family.” In Buckingham Palace, she set aside a Corgi Room for them, where each slept in its own wicker basket. A gourmet chef prepared a special diet for each, customized to their age and health. Chicken, steak, and rabbit were often on the menu. The dogs were trained to sit in a semicircle and wait patiently for a butler to set out their food in porcelain bowls before being released to eat it. The Queen gave each of the dogs a Christmas stocking of toys and treats during the holiday. In 1999, a royal footman deservedly lost his position for spiking the dogs’ food and water with alcohol to watch them stagger around.

Corgis Gone Wild

The dogs created chaos in the royal household at times. Over the years, at different times the Queen’s corgis bit members of the family, staff members, a policeman, and, yes, even a mailman. In 1989, the dogs had started getting out of control. They were nipping at the family and staff, and eventually, the dog pack killed one of the dorgis, Chipper. The family brought in an animal psychologist to tame them. They got out of control again in 1991. Nearly a dozen of the dogs got in a fight, biting the Queen and a chauffeur severely enough that they both required medical treatment. In another incident, one of the Queen’s corgis named Pharos had to be euthanized after it was mauled by an English bull terrier belonging to her daughter, Princess Anne.

The Queen’s Last Corgis

Elizabeth decided in 2012 not to breed any more corgis. She was getting older and didn’t want to leave behind her dogs for others to care for. Her children and grandchildren were not as enthusiastic about the dogs as she was. Prince William had complained about them barking so much and said he didn’t know how his grandmother could put up with it. Prince Harry also said the dogs barked at him constantly but that they took an immediate liking to his wife, Meghan, a dog lover.

Willow, the last of the corgis the Queen bred, died in 2018. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the end of the Queen’s corgi-filled life. When Prince Philip was recovering from heart surgery in 2021, her son Prince Andrew and his daughters gave her two Pembroke Welsh corgis named Muick and Sandy to cheer her up. They were a comfort to the Queen when her husband died that year and during the COVID-19 lockdown, when she would take long walks with them.

The Corgis Today

Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022, mourned by millions of people around the world. In a deeply poignant moment, two members of the palace staff led Muick and Sandy out to the quadrangle at Windsor Castle to witness the passing of the funeral procession.

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, announced they would be adopting the dogs. The couple live in different wings of Royal Lodge, a large palace near Windsor Castle. Sarah and the Queen had remained friends over the years. She had often gone on walks with her and the dogs. Reportedly, Muick showed signs of depression for over a year after the Queen’s passing. But, before Christmas 2023, the Duchess posted a photo of the dogs, eager for treats, and reported they are both doing well now, living out their days in luxury, and love.