Certainly!

Here is a summary of the provided extracts, condensed into key nuggets about the connection between Queen Elizabeth II and corgis, and how her influence shaped their popularity and image worldwide:

---

**Queen Elizabeth II & the Corgi: The Royal Legacy That Shaped a Cultural Icon**

- The popularity of corgis, especially Pembroke Welsh Corgis, is closely tied to Queen Elizabeth II, who owned more than 30 dogs of the breed throughout her reign.

- The Queen’s passion for corgis began in 1933 at age 7, when her father, King George VI, gave her a corgi named Dookie.

Her lifelong devotion continued after she was gifted Susan for her 18th birthday.

- Queen Elizabeth’s corgis were constant companions, living both lavish and closely supervised lives within royal palaces.

Their care was meticulous, with specially prepared meals and their own dedicated quarters.

- The Queen treated her corgis as full members of the royal household, ensuring they had a privileged lifestyle—further endearing them to the public.

Even after her death, royal family members like Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson continued to care for the surviving corgis, Muick and Sandy.

- Queen Elizabeth sometimes created 'dorgis' by crossing her corgis with her sister Margaret’s dachshunds, demonstrating her genuine affection for the breed and interest in expanding its legacy.

- Her corgis appeared in public and in media, contributing to strong, lasting associations between the breed, the British Monarchy, and a sense of tradition.

- Upon her passing in 2022, tributes poured in, highlighting her love for the breed, with global fans and communities (such as Tour de Corgi) expressing their affection for both the Queen and corgis.

Social media channels of the royal family often featured corgis, further amplifying their image.

- The Queen’s bond with her corgis elevated the breed’s global profile and desirability, making corgis synonymous with charm, loyalty, and an almost fairytale-like royal connection.

Certainly!

Title:

Content: Throughout her life, the Queen has made no secret of her love for her corgis and dorgis. The monarch has often been seen alongside her furry friends, and it is thought that she has looked after more than 30 of the dogs over the years.

As you can imagine, the Queen’s beloved pets have been treated to lives of pure luxury, with their meals more extravagant than most. The pampered pooches obviously couldn't just eat any old normal dog food, but instead are said to feast on the best ingredients produced by top chefs.

The corgis' diet is thought to be made up of luxurious meals such as fillet steaks and chicken breast. Royal biographer Brian Hoey revealed the details of the corgi’s luxurious diet in his book Pets by Royal Appointment.

READ MORE: Prince George's incredibly normal hobby that could see him play against members of the public and they won't even know

The biographer also revealed how the carefully prepared meals are delivered by a footman and then covered in gravy that is poured by the Queen herself. The pampered pets are also reportedly off limits when it comes to discipline. Brian wrote in his book that nobody is allowed to raise a finger or a voice to any of the dogs.

He claimed they cock their legs and do what corgis do wherever they want — on antique furniture, priceless carpets. They are also said to have their own room and they are allowed to wander around freely. According to Mail Online, the dogs never eaten tinned food and have even been given homeopathic remedies when they get sick.

The monarch’s close relationship with the corgi breed of dog goes back to 1933 when her father brought home a corgi that would later be named Dookie. When she was younger the Queen also had a corgi called Susan, who was gifted to her in 1944 for her 18th birthday, and quickly became a close companion.

Many of the Queen’s later corgis are said to be descendants of Susan, as the Queen continued to breed the line of dogs over fifty years. She even went on to create a number of 'dorgis', after cross breeding one of her dogs with Margaret's Dachshund, Pipkin.

Last year the Queen welcomed two new dorgis, one called Fergus and one called Muick, but the former sadly died from a heart defect in May. In June 2021, Prince Andrew and daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie gave the Queen a new puppy, named Sandy, on what would have been Prince Philip's 100th birthday.

According to Hello!, one of the Queen's closest aides, Angela Kelly, has told how the pets "always brought a smile to everyone's faces" in a new chapter for her book The Other Side of the Coin, The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe. She said: "I was worried they would get under The Queen's feet, but they have turned out to be a godsend. They are beautiful and great fun and The Queen often takes long walks with them in Home Park."

Angela revealed that the dogs accompanied the Queen on a flight to Balmoral in August 2021. She told: "They were very well behaved, with Louis the footman on hand. Candy, who is an old hand at flying – she must have been on hundreds of flights in her lifetime – ambled about and kept her eye on the young pups. The puppies stayed close to The Queen but occasionally sniffed around your feet as they hoped for a nibble of something tasty from our lunch."

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Here is a summary of the provided extracts, condensed into key nuggets about the connection between Queen Elizabeth II and corgis, and how her influence shaped their popularity and image worldwide:

---

**Queen Elizabeth II & the Corgi: The Royal Legacy That Shaped a Cultural Icon**

- The popularity of corgis, especially Pembroke Welsh Corgis, is closely tied to Queen Elizabeth II, who owned more than 30 dogs of the breed throughout her reign.

Title:

Content: Skip to main content
ABC Rural

Corgis bred for herding livestock long before Queen Elizabeth II made them famous

By Sophie Johnson
Posted

While corgis are synonymous with the late Queen Elizabeth II, it might be a surprise to know the tiny breed is still used as a working dog in Australia.

The Queen had 30 corgis as pets over her lifetime, giving the breed its international recognition.

But the dog has been used for centuries to herd livestock.

Jean Milnes herds south of Adelaide with her female corgi, Tirion.

"[Corgis] have been herding since the Middle Ages at least, there is documentary evidence of them herding back in about 800AD," she said.

"I just got into it because I thought this would be fun to do to see if she could remember what her ancestors used to do."

Exercising instincts

There are few corgi herders in Australia now, but Ms Milne is hoping the popularity will boom after the death of the Queen, returning the breed to its farming roots.

"I still have the conversation with people who think corgis are wonderful, associate them with being the Queen's dog, and don't realise that they actually have a job to do," Ms Milnes said.

"There is ... going to be an influx of people wanting corgis for the next year or so, and it would be nice if they did something more than just go to the dog park."

Her corgi trains for herding competitions.

"We should be doing things that … dogs enjoy as well," she said.

"They need to be given the opportunity to achieve things.

"I think it is very important in any breed to maintain what they were intended to do."

Big brain, little legs

National Welsh Corgi Council secretary Sadie Podger said the dogs were very intelligent, which was needed when herding animals.

"Years ago … the farmers found that these dogs are actually quite smart and adapt to their conditions that they're in and found that they were the better of all the cattle type dogs that they had," she said.

Ms Podger said corgis were known as herd heelers because they could nip the rear legs of livestock to guide and direct the animal.

"When they herd they can roll from one side … of the cattle to the other side with that, and then sort of directing the cattle to where they want it, because cattle can be quite stubborn."

"They're low to the ground so they can drop their head a little bit, and basically the hoof goes over the top of their head where a taller dog could get hit in the head."

Loading YouTube content
Posted

- The Queen’s passion for corgis began in 1933 at age 7, when her father, King George VI, gave her a corgi named Dookie.

Title:

Content: Prince William reassures fan that Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis are ‘fine’

As Prince William surprised mourners waiting outside Westminster Hall to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday, one had a pressing question on her mind: How are the late Queen’s beloved corgis faring?

“I saw them the other day,” the recently anointed Prince of Wales, 40, said in response.

“They’re being looked after fine. They’re two very friendly corgis. They’ve got a good home, they’re being looked after very well.”

The woman looked rather relieved to hear this, offering her condolences to William before he continued down the line.

It’s widely known that Queen Elizabeth harbored a lifelong adoration for the dog breed.

When she died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, she left two of them behind: Muick and Sandy, along with a cocker spaniel named Lissy. Another one of her much-loved pups, an elderly dachshund-corgi mix named Candy, reportedly passed away just months before the Queen‘s death.

As Prince William alluded, Muick and Sandy have already safely moved in with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson – with whom he still cohabitates – at their shared residence in Windsor. Meanwhile, Lissy is reportedly staying with her trainer, per E!.

As previously reported, it was back in 1933 when Queen Elizabeth II received her first corgi, Dookie. The pooch was gifted to the then-7-year-old by her father, George VI.

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Getty Images

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Getty Images

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Getty Images

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Bettmann Archive

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Bettmann Archive

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Getty Images

The late Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life, getting her first one in 1933 at age 7.

Getty Images

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Then, on the Queen’s 18th birthday in 1944, her parents gave her another corgi-pup, this one named Susan.

It’s been reported that, of the more than 30 corgis Queen Elizabeth was said to have owned over her lifetime, many were Susan’s descendants. The lineage sadly ended in 2015, however, when her last living progeny, Willow, died at the age of 15.

The Duke and Duchess of York brought Muick – along with another pooch named Fergus who tragically succumbed to a congenital heart defect very shortly thereafter – into the Queen’s life in March of 2021 to cheer her up in light of her late husband Prince Philip’s declining health. The late Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99 that April.

From there, Sandy found her way to Buckingham Palace on the occasion of the Queen’s 95th birthday.

She seemed to have no problem fitting right into the royal lifestyle, easily making her way into the monarch’s heart after the loss of her husband.

Her lifelong devotion continued after she was gifted Susan for her 18th birthday.

Title:

Content: Queen Elizabeth II is known to have had over 30 different dogs during her reign as the head of the monarchy until her passing last week, Thursday September 8th 2022.

The Queen who has been succeeded by her son, the now His Royal Highness King Charles III, was a big animal lover, but had a definite soft spot for dogs, and in particular, the breed Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

On the day she passed, Queen Elizabeth II had four dogs, two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, one Dorgi — a cross between a Dachshund and a Corgi — and one Cocker Spaniel.

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle set to fly children Archie and Lilibet to the UK for Queen Elizabeth's funeral

It has been confirmed that her two remaining Corgis, named Muick and Sandy, will now be looked after by her son, Prince Andrew The Duke of York.

He will look after the dogs alongside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York. Despite divorcing in 1997, they remain cohabiting.

The animals will live alongside The Duke and Duchess at their Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The change of ownership was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Duke of York.

Both dogs were gifted to the late monarch by the prince, and so will be returned to his ownership.

During lockdown, Prince Andrew gave Queen Elizabeth two dogs, Muick and Fergus. Sadly, Fergus died last May, and he was replaced with Sandy.

Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, posted an emotional statement following the loss of her former mother-in-law.

"I am heartbroken by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy: the most fantastic example of duty and service and steadfastness, and a constant steadying presence as our head of state for more than 70 years," she penned.

"To me, she was the most incredible mother-in-law and friend. I will always be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to me even after my divorce. I will miss her more than words can express."

Queen Elizabeth II was renowned for her love of dogs, and other animals including horses.

She began her love of Pembroke Welsh Corgis back in 1933, when she was first given a little corgi named Susan as a gift for her 18th birthday.

All of the subsequent royal corgis bred by the monarch descended from Susan, the original.

It is not known or publicised who will care for Candy and Lissy, the previously mentioned Dorgi and Cocker Spaniel.

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Read more:

- Queen Elizabeth’s corgis were constant companions, living both lavish and closely supervised lives within royal palaces.

Title:

Content: It's no secret that Queen Elizabeth is a huge dog lover, so it comes as no surprise that her pet pooches live very lavish lifestyles.

Her Majesty, 95, has taken care of numerous dogs throughout her 70-year reign, and she is currently the owner of two corgis, a dorgi called Candy, and a cocker spaniel named Lissy.

The Queen's pet corgis have been a constant throughout her time on the throne, and it's believed that she's had around 30 dogs throughout her lifetime.

Like any other dog owner, the Queen wants the very best for her pet pooches and that includes a tailored menu, special travel arrangements, and a specific feeding ritual.

Here we take a peek into the lives of Her Majesty's pampered pooches...

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Tailored menu

It's no secret that members of the royal household have their own weekly menus and that also includes the Queen's pet dogs, too.

Her Majesty is very particular about what her pet dogs eat and she reportedly insists that they have their own personal menus.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed what the pooches' diet entails, saying: "The corgis have their own menu. One day they'll have lamb, one day beef and then another, chicken."

He also added: "We had to make sure that all the meat was cut very finely and diced so there were no bones because we couldn't have them choking."

The Queen has also created her own special gravy recipe, specifically for her beloved pups.

In the book All The Queen's Corgis, author Penny Junor explained the dogs' diets consists of a "variety of fresh, cooked meat, vegetables and rice, prepared specially for them in the royal kitchens, topped with a little biscuit, homoeopathic and herbal remedies when required, and a special gravy that, legend has it, is the Queen's own recipe".

Feeding routine

It's not just their meals which are specially prepared, as the dogs also have a strict feeding ritual.

Animal psychologist Dr Roger Mugford previously worked for Her Majesty, and has opened up about the pooches meal times at Buckingham Palace.

Speaking to Town and Country magazine, he said: "Their food was served by a butler in an eclectic collection of battered silver and porcelain dishes.

"As I watched, the Queen got the corgis to sit in a semi-circle around her, and then fed them one by one, in order of seniority. The others just sat and patiently waited their turn."

Author Penny Junor also wrote in her book, All The Queen's Corgis: "Whenever possible, she [the Queen] feeds them herself and it is an afternoon ritual; but not an unruly frantic free-for-all.

"A footman brings the food and bowls on a silver tray and lays out a plastic sheet to protect the carpet.

"The Queen then sits them in a semi-circle around her and does the rest."

Travelling

The Queen regularly has to travel, but her beloved pooches are never left behind.

She ensures they also travel in style, with previous photographs showing her pets sitting on her lap while travelling in the car.

Her dogs have also been spotted at airports with her, and were once seen at Aberdeen Airport preparing to head off to the Balmoral estate, located in the Scottish Highlands.

Sleeping arrangements

As well as tailored menus and lavish travel arrangements, the Queen's pet dogs also have their very own quarters at the palace.

The dogs reportedly have their own spacious room where they sleep in luxurious raised wicker beds.

And that's not all, as their beds also have fresh sheets put on them daily – a tradition which was first started by the Queen Mother.

For all the latest celebrity gossip, sign up to our daily newsletter here .

Their care was meticulous, with specially prepared meals and their own dedicated quarters.

- The Queen treated her corgis as full members of the royal household, ensuring they had a privileged lifestyle—further endearing them to the public.

Even after her death, royal family members like Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson continued to care for the surviving corgis, Muick and Sandy.

Title:

Content: Queen Elizabeth II's corgis are 'thriving' a year after death of the monarch, Sarah, Duchess of York has said.

The late Queen's former daughter-in-law took over care of her final two corgis, Muick and Sandy, after her passing - housing them at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The duchess has revealed how Queen Elizabeth 'entrusted' her with their care after death. Sarah shared a photograph of herself crouching on the edge of a field with the dogs, as she commemorated the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death a year today.

Sandy and Muick were given to the Queen during the coronavirus pandemic as gifts from her son the Duke of York. They played a sweet role in her committal service at Windsor Castle last September.

Read more: Anniversary tribute to late Queen Elizabeth II will be led by the Prince and Princess of Wales

The neatly groomed dogs were brought to the castle's quadrangle for the arrival of the late Queen's coffin, ahead of the service exclusive to family and trusted staff at St George's Chapel. Sarah Ferguson - nicknamed Fergie - wrote: "As we mourn a year on, we also celebrate the wonderful times we shared with Her Late Majesty the Queen.

"She entrusted me with the care of her corgis Sandy and Muick and I am delighted to say they are thriving."

Throughout her life, the Queen owned more than 30 corgis - many of which were direct descendants from Susan, who was an 18th birthday present from her parents in 1944. The Queen fell in love with her father George VI's dog Dookie, and wanted a corgi of her own.

Susan was so loved and cherished that she even accompanied Princess Elizabeth on her honeymoon.

- Queen Elizabeth sometimes created 'dorgis' by crossing her corgis with her sister Margaret’s dachshunds, demonstrating her genuine affection for the breed and interest in expanding its legacy.

- Her corgis appeared in public and in media, contributing to strong, lasting associations between the breed, the British Monarchy, and a sense of tradition.

Title:

Content: To the rest of the world, she is Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom—but to generations of corgis, she was always just Mum.

The queen’s beloved corgis have never been far from her side, ever since she fell in love with the breed as a young girl.

See Also: Royal Family Shares Throwback Photos of Prince Charles

The queen received her first corgi, Susan, as an 18th birthday present, and her 14 generations of royal corgis since then have all descended from the same line. Sadly, Susan’s very last descendant, Willow, recently passed away, marking the end of era for the royal family. However, the queen will forever be associated with the distinctive breed.

We’re looking back at her lifelong affection for corgis. Launch the gallery to see candid photos of Queen Elizabeth and her favorite canine companions!

- Upon her passing in 2022, tributes poured in, highlighting her love for the breed, with global fans and communities (such as Tour de Corgi) expressing their affection for both the Queen and corgis.

Title:

Content: Sunday, Sep 11, 2022

Annual ‘Tour de Corgi’ event to include new ‘Queen Elizabeth’ costume category to honour the monarch

“We all have a very strong affection for her as a fellow corgi lover," Tour de Corgi founder Tracy Stewart was quoted as saying

Queen Elizabeth II is seen walking in the private grounds of Windsor Castle, in England, on steps at the rear of the East Terrace and East Garden with four of her dogs: clockwise from top left Willow (corgi), Vulcan (dorgie), Candy (dorgie) and Holly (AP/PTI)

As a tribute to the late UK monarch Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 96 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8, after reigning for 70 long years, the Tour de Corgi parade — an annual event that celebrates the dog breed corgi — will include a new element this year that is likely to make fans of the British royal family and corgi lovers happy.

Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price

It is no secret that the queen was extremely fond of dogs, especially corgis, from a very early age, and that she had been breeding them until 2018, when she finally realised that she may have to leave some of them behind after her death.

According to Country Living, the queen had four dogs at the time of her death: two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, a Dorgi (Corgi-Dachshund mix), and a Cocker Spaniel named Lissy, who joined the family only this year, in January 2022.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)

In her lifetime, she reportedly bred 14 generations of corgis, and even famously declared: “My corgis are family.”

According to an Independent report, Queen Elizabeth‘s love for her four-legged friends was well-documented during this year’s platinum jubilee celebrations in the UK, when the sky above Buckingham Palace was lit up with images of the dog breed.

The publication mentioned that the Tour de Corgi parade this year — which has been taking place in Fort Collins, Colorado since 2014 — will include a “Queen Elizabeth and her corgis” costume competition, in “memorium and to honour her”, quoting the event’s organisers who shared this with a local newspaper ‘The Coloradoan‘.

This is a May 12, 1973 file photo of Queen Elizabeth II sitting with her corgis, at Virginia Water to watch competitors, including Prince Philip in the Marathon of the European Driving Championship, part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Tour de Corgi founder Tracy Stewart was quoted as saying, “We all have a very strong affection for her as a fellow corgi lover. I think it is just, you know, our dogs are such a big part of our hearts that it creates a very heartfelt connection.”

Advertisement

The aforementioned event will take place on October 1, 2022, and will conclude with a corgi parade through the town.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @bronskiandfriends

According to a Reader’s Digest report, the queen was fond of corgis because of their “energy and untamed spirit”, and the fact that her parents welcomed the family’s first corgi, Dookie, in 1933. Eleven years later, in 1944, the queen’s father gifted her a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. The pupper even accompanied her on her honeymoon, and gave birth to a pair of puppies in 1949, which reportedly marked the beginning of the royal line of corgis.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!

First published on: 11-09-2022 at 07:10:45 pm
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Social media channels of the royal family often featured corgis, further amplifying their image.

- The Queen’s bond with her corgis elevated the breed’s global profile and desirability, making corgis synonymous with charm, loyalty, and an almost fairytale-like royal connection.


**Summary of Enchanting and Whimsical Details About Royal Corgis and Their Cultural Impact**

- **Royal Preference and Personality:** Queen Elizabeth II’s affection for corgis is legendary.

Her choice of corgis as royal pets (originally chosen because they were a “big dog in a small body” and on The Kennel Club's endangered list) set a trend, and her corgis became symbols of her reign.

The Queen’s dogs were sometimes perceived as “a bit spoilt,” pampered with treats—she famously carried unwrapped dog biscuits in her handbag—emphasizing their cherished status.

- **Visual Iconography:** Corgis have become visual shorthand for royal whimsy.

During Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, a giant illuminated corgi created with drones wowed the global audience, a 3D spectacle signifying the breed’s near-mythical association with the Queen (alongside other royal symbols like teapots and horses).

Such gestures highlighted the corgi as an official royal emblem, loved both in the palace and worldwide.

- **Cultural Moments & Emotional Connections:** News stories, viral posts, and art pieces centering around corgis—such as a touching photo of corgi Florence “looking emotional” during the Queen’s funeral—underline the bond between the royal family, their pets, and the public.

The Queen’s corgis’ lives, their appearances at events, and their graceful presence at historic moments often sparked outpourings of affection from fans and pet lovers alike.

- **Impact on Media and Storytelling:** The Queen’s fondness inspired a slew of media portrayals—from children’s books created in tribute to her, to stage adaptations (e.g., “A Royal Corgi Christmas”), and even celebratory theatrical productions.

The corgi’s image, buoyed by royal patronage, flourished in children’s media, as exemplified by appearances in movies, illustrations, and even fan parades like the "Tour de Corgi."

**Summary of Enchanting and Whimsical Details About Royal Corgis and Their Cultural Impact**

- **Royal Preference and Personality:** Queen Elizabeth II’s affection for corgis is legendary.

Title:

Content: Sunday, Sep 11, 2022

Annual ‘Tour de Corgi’ event to include new ‘Queen Elizabeth’ costume category to honour the monarch

“We all have a very strong affection for her as a fellow corgi lover," Tour de Corgi founder Tracy Stewart was quoted as saying

Queen Elizabeth II is seen walking in the private grounds of Windsor Castle, in England, on steps at the rear of the East Terrace and East Garden with four of her dogs: clockwise from top left Willow (corgi), Vulcan (dorgie), Candy (dorgie) and Holly (AP/PTI)

As a tribute to the late UK monarch Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 96 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8, after reigning for 70 long years, the Tour de Corgi parade — an annual event that celebrates the dog breed corgi — will include a new element this year that is likely to make fans of the British royal family and corgi lovers happy.

Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price

It is no secret that the queen was extremely fond of dogs, especially corgis, from a very early age, and that she had been breeding them until 2018, when she finally realised that she may have to leave some of them behind after her death.

According to Country Living, the queen had four dogs at the time of her death: two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, a Dorgi (Corgi-Dachshund mix), and a Cocker Spaniel named Lissy, who joined the family only this year, in January 2022.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)

In her lifetime, she reportedly bred 14 generations of corgis, and even famously declared: “My corgis are family.”

According to an Independent report, Queen Elizabeth‘s love for her four-legged friends was well-documented during this year’s platinum jubilee celebrations in the UK, when the sky above Buckingham Palace was lit up with images of the dog breed.

The publication mentioned that the Tour de Corgi parade this year — which has been taking place in Fort Collins, Colorado since 2014 — will include a “Queen Elizabeth and her corgis” costume competition, in “memorium and to honour her”, quoting the event’s organisers who shared this with a local newspaper ‘The Coloradoan‘.

This is a May 12, 1973 file photo of Queen Elizabeth II sitting with her corgis, at Virginia Water to watch competitors, including Prince Philip in the Marathon of the European Driving Championship, part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Tour de Corgi founder Tracy Stewart was quoted as saying, “We all have a very strong affection for her as a fellow corgi lover. I think it is just, you know, our dogs are such a big part of our hearts that it creates a very heartfelt connection.”

Advertisement

The aforementioned event will take place on October 1, 2022, and will conclude with a corgi parade through the town.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @bronskiandfriends

According to a Reader’s Digest report, the queen was fond of corgis because of their “energy and untamed spirit”, and the fact that her parents welcomed the family’s first corgi, Dookie, in 1933. Eleven years later, in 1944, the queen’s father gifted her a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. The pupper even accompanied her on her honeymoon, and gave birth to a pair of puppies in 1949, which reportedly marked the beginning of the royal line of corgis.

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!

First published on: 11-09-2022 at 07:10:45 pm
Next Story

Bombay High Court says judicial system answerable to accused, fair and speedy trial expected

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Her choice of corgis as royal pets (originally chosen because they were a “big dog in a small body” and on The Kennel Club's endangered list) set a trend, and her corgis became symbols of her reign.

Title:

Content: A corgi named Florence has captured the hearts of social media users after her owner, Jacqui, shared a snap of her looking 'emotional' while they watched the Queen's state funeral.

Posting on Twitter as @vanbommelj, Jacqui uploaded an image of five-year-old Florence (also known as Flo) spread out on the floor in front of the television, with the Queen's funeral procession on in the background.

She captioned the tweet, writing: "It's been an emotional week for a corgi too."

Dozens of people have since liked the tweet, with Jacqui following it up with an image of Flo also stealing the show during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer.

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

The image, taken at a street party, shows a cardboard cut out of the Queen, with Florence's lead around it's hand, and the pooch sat obediently below, looking up at the cardboard monarch's face.

Speaking about Florence, Jacqui told The Mirror: "This is Florence a pedigree corgi who we bought from Mary Davies, a breeder in Wales. Mary Davies is part of the Welsh Corgi League and was in the documentary on the Queen’s Corgi’s as her kennel provided a sire for the Queen’s corgi’s.

"Florence has just turned five years old and is lovely natured, she qualified for Crufts but then ruined her looks by knocking a tooth out. She is much happier running on the beaches and wild spaces of the south coast where we live."

Jacqui continued to say: "She is our daughter Ruby’s dog.

"Six years ago Ruby researched the best small dog to fit our family. She settled on Corgis as at the time they were on The Kennel Club's endangered breed list, plus they are known as being a big dog in a small body. Ruby saved all her babysitting and pocket money and did a paper round to pay for half of Florence. The other half being in lieu of three birthday and Christmas presents."

Jacqui added: "Now Florence spends her time out walking every day, promoting the breed to everyone she meets letting them know that Corgis are strong obedient little dogs bred for cattle herding and will happily trek for miles which helps with weight control.

"Her other duties include keeping an ear alert for anyone passing by and attending our street parties (also posted on twitter).

"She was pictured stealing the show as we watched the funeral with my 80 year old parents who watched King George's funeral together as children. They were in the same house crowded around a small black and white TV, my mum remembers this fidgety boy, they later married and had five children. But that’s another story..."

This comes as the Queen's corgis were seen waiting for the coffin to arrive back at Windsor Castle.

Prince Andrew was seen with his late mother's dogs, Muick and Sandy as they were walked inside the grounds of the castle ahead of the Committal Service.

You can follow more updates on the Queen's funeral on our live blog here.

The Queen’s dogs were sometimes perceived as “a bit spoilt,” pampered with treats—she famously carried unwrapped dog biscuits in her handbag—emphasizing their cherished status.

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‘I love writing for children’: Emma Thompson and Axel Scheffler on their amazing shaggy dog story

The Oscar-winning actor and the Gruffalo illustrator have teamed up to create a tale about a scruffy hound. They discuss corgis, comic books and how their friendship began

Axel Scheffler was an unknown illustrator, working largely for Good Housekeeping magazine, when he received a letter in response to a small exhibition of his work. It was from Emma Thompson, a young actor who had begun to attract attention with TV series such as Fortunes of War and Tutti Frutti. Neatly written in fountain pen, it inquired whether he would accept a commission. “Ken Branagh, my chap, runs his own theatre company,” it explained. He was playing Hamlet to her sister Sophie’s Ophelia and she wanted something to commemorate a moment in time. “I have a vague notion of what you charge for your work, which doesn’t seem to me to be enough,” it went on. “I enclose a picture of Ken and Sophie in case it’s of use.”

Scheffler still has the letter and has brought it along 34 years later to an interview to mark their first literary collaboration, on a children’s picture book, Jim’s Spectacular Christmas. “That’s amazing,” says Thompson of the letter, which predates her six-year marriage to Branagh and was written from the flat they shared in 1988. Then she trumps it, by announcing that she still has the envelope in which Scheffler sent the two pictures. It was decorated with a picture of Hamlet sitting on a skull “looking really depressed” and it sits framed above a loo in her home to this day.

So began a correspondence that continued over the years with requests to Scheffler to design letterheads for both Thompson and her actor mother, Phyllida Law. Though they never actually met in person, they exchanged gifts on the birth of their first children; hers to him was a food hamper; his to her was a picture of a pig wheeling a pram. A pig? Yes, she explains, a pig is her letterhead emblem. When she later became a dame he drew her a picture of a pig wearing a dame badge. “So, without ever meeting, Axel has been part of the illustration of my la-i-ife.” She draws the vowel out into a camp diphthong as part of a running joke with Scheffler as to which of them will seem most exciting to the children for whom their new book is intended: the actor who starred as Nanny McPhee and now as Mrs Trunchbull in the film of Matilda the Musical or the illustrator of the mega-selling Gruffalo books.

We’re sitting in a grand upstairs room at the V&A museum, having skittered along corridors, through porticos and galleries just like the protagonist of their book. He’s a small scruff of a dog named Jim, with a “gamey whiff” and a “rheumy eye”. He’s based on a terrier that was, in real life, the faithful companion of the V&A’s founder and first director, Sir Henry Cole, who left a handy sketch of him and commemorated him with a plaque in the museum. In Thompson’s telling, Jim is rescued from life as a canine chimney brush after tumbling down a flue in a cloud of soot into a gathering of museum worthies. From that inglorious beginning he goes on to become part of the 19th-century invention of Christmas, presenting Queen Victoria with the world’s first commercial Christmas card.

The card, drawn to Cole’s design by his artist friend John Horsley, still exists and copying it has given Scheffler an unprecedented opportunity to depict a child drinking wine: “That’s really not allowed in children’s books,” he points out. Other historical details include the small printing press on which the cards were produced for Cole, an innovator who was also instrumental in introducing the world’s first postage stamp, the penny black. Humorously told and drawn though it is, this is a history book as well as a shaggy dog story – a delicate balancing act that became clear when it came to the portrayal of Queen Victoria, whose chest is being dabbed by her solicitous husband, Albert, to rid it of a tea stain when Jim catches his first glimpse of the royal family. “I thought she was still very young but you describe her as round, so I made her a little bit more – well – round,” says Scheffler.

Thompson, who has always taken her historical research seriously, points out that Victoria would indeed have still been young by 21st-century standards – she was only 42 when Prince Albert died and he is still very much alive in the story – but by that time she was somewhat altered by having given birth to nine children in 17 years. Underpinning Jim’s story is the bigger history of the creation of Albertopolis, the west London museum quarter that was dreamed up by the prince as part of a vision of culture for the masses and is now the home to the Science and National History museums as well as the V&A. “When you start reading about Albert you realise what an incredible bloke he was,” says Thompson. “He was so much more cultured and sophisticated really than our lot are. It was a great tragedy that he died so young, because I think he would have made lots of changes.”

Royal corgis do not come out of it so well: Thompson depicts a stoutly entitled one chasing poor Jim out of the palace. “I just feel as though the corgis might be a bit spoilt,” she says. “But I think actually it’s very likely that the Queen [Elizabeth] was quite fierce with them and that they were very well trained.” This isn’t entirely a matter of conjecture. “I did actually see her do this once. She opened her handbag, in which she had an unwrapped dog biscuit, and when she drew three circles over the head of three corgis they all rolled over. It was like a circus trick, but the thing I really loved was that she had an unwrapped dog biscuit in her handbag. I thought, well, that’s got to make your hankie smell a bit.” This prompts a bit of banter between the duo as to what else she might have kept in her omnipresent bag: carrots for the royal horses, perhaps.

Thompson writes like she talks: irreverent, refreshingly un-grand and with a comic timing that is accentuated in the book by Scheffler’s deployment of mini-tableaux: Jim having a bath, reading a book or slurping up a bowl of custard. The actor was an early connoisseur of comic-book humour, who once wrote a fan letter to the creators of Asterix and received the reply that they were delighted to have made a small English girl laugh. Scheffler, growing up in Germany at around the same time, was a devotee of a comic-strip bear called Petzi, by the Danish husband and wife team Vilhelm and Carla Hansen.

It was Thompson who brought Scheffler in on Jim’s Spectacular Christmas, having already written the story, complete with character sketches, and folded them up into a little book. Though an award-winning screenwriter, she had no ambition to diversify into picture books, she says. But she agreed to this one because it was pitched to her as an invitation from Henry Cole himself, just as the three Peter Rabbit books she has previously written were pitched as invitations from Peter: “There’s still a little bit of me that thinks it was Peter Rabbit himself who asked me,” she says. “I love writing for children. I think it’s perhaps a legacy from dad.” Her sister, Sophie, also now writes books for children. Their father, Eric Thompson, presented the children’s TV programme Play School and went on to create and narrate The Magic Roundabout.

The question is not if, but when, Thompson and Scheffler will collaborate again – they circle around the idea during the interview as if neither can quite believe that the other would actually stoop to it. When time’s up we’re ushered out along the corridors to a staircase that museum staff have identified as the exact one that Scheffler has depicted, where an excited gaggle of east London schoolchildren awaits.

Settling herself on the steps in their midst, beside a large cardboard cut-out of Jim, Thompson asks who has heard of the Gruffalo and a rafter-rattling cheer goes up. Scheffler lurks in the shadows as she starts to read from the book. “Now what,” she asks, “do you think ‘a gamey whiff’ means?”

Jim’s Spectacular Christmas, written by Emma Thompson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is published by Puffin (£14.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

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- **Visual Iconography:** Corgis have become visual shorthand for royal whimsy.

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Content: Are Lifetime’s The Dog Days of Christmas, Hallmark’s A Royal Corgi Christmas, and ION’s Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays barking up the right tree?
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Christmas TV movie season has begun, and you've probably noticed that there will be more flicks than you can shake a stick at. (More than 155 at last count.)

Some folks will tune in to witness a charming B&B be saved, others to watch childhood rivals square off in a baking competition of some sort, and still others simply to get a glimpse of Lacey Chabert or Tamera Mowry-Housley or Candace Cameron Bure glowing under the mistletoe. And then there is a faction of festive fans out there who will be drawn to the fireplace-lit TV for one main reason: Canines.

The Christmas-movie genre has occasionally gone to the dogs, of course. (See: Beethoven's Christmas Adventure, The Dog Who Saved Christmas, Puppy Star Christmas, Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws, etc.) This year, at least three movies will center their candy-coated narrative on a pooch: Lifetime is set to unveil Dog Days of Christmas (Nov. 11), which features an unrelenting non-profit worker (Georgia Flood) who aims to find a home for several dogs in her hometown while saving an animal rescue shelter with a big-hearted veterinarian (Ezekiel Simat). The proceedings turn more regal in Hallmark Channel's A Royal Corgi Christmas (Dec. 12), in which a conflicted crown prince (Jordan Renzo) gifts his mother with an undisciplined corgi, who will require the help of a highly skilled trainer from America (Hunter King). And in ION TV's Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays (Nov. 24), a pooch owned by a selfish design maven is kidnapped, er, sorry, dognapped, sending her dedicated assistant (Sara Ball) on a most dangerous mission. (Because Tiny — seen below on the left — is missing for a good chunk of the film, expect a little less canine on the screen.)

What these movies lack in future Emmy nominations, they aim to make up for with festive underdog heart, shameless canine wordplay, and cutesy-mopey reaction shots. So, now you may be wondering: Which one of these furry flicks will most leave me in shock and awwwww? Let's ask a few important questions and determine who's barking up the right Christmas tree.

Christmas canine movies
Credit: ION TV; 2022 Hallmark Media; Lifetime

Does the title of the movie contain a dog pun?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Does a dog appear in the first minute of the movie?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Does the dog have a Christmas-y name?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES (Mistletoe)
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is the dog presented as a Christmas gift?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is there a dog dressed adorably in a Christmas sweater?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Christmas Movies 2022
Hallmark Channel's 'A Royal Corgi Christmas'
| Credit: MARTIN MAGUIRE

Does a dog help to spark romance between two people?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Does a dog chew on Christmas decorations?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is there also a — shudder — cat in the movie?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is there a handsome vet whom the protagonist attended high school with?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Is the dog a widow or widower?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO (but the protagonist's father is a widower)
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO (but the Queen is a widow)
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Does a dog find itself in medium/serious jeopardy?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Lifetime's The Dog Days of Christmas
Lifetime's 'The Dog Days of Christmas'
| Credit: Lifetime

Does a dog need a home and get one just in time for Christmas?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is someone comically allergic to dogs?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Does a dog adorably disobey commands?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Does a dog destroy a buffet?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Does the dog partake in some sort of competition?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES (Corgi Christmas Derby)
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Dognapped
ION's 'Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays'
| Credit: ION TV

Does the dog help raise money for charity?
Dog Days of Christmas: YES
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: NO

Is there a joke about poop or anal glands being expressed?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Does a dog bite the villain and save the day?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: NO
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

Does the dog bark in approval when the couple kisses at the end of the movie?
Dog Days of Christmas: NO
A Royal Corgi Christmas: YES
Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays: YES

VERDICT: The Dog Days of Christmas tallied 11 yeses, while A Royal Corgi Christmas and Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays tied with 9 each. But every dog should have its day, and in the Christmas spirit — and because you're a weirdly obsessed dog person — you'll watch all of these movies.

Check out our daily must-see picks — plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more — on EW's What to Watch podcast.

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During Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, a giant illuminated corgi created with drones wowed the global audience, a 3D spectacle signifying the breed’s near-mythical association with the Queen (alongside other royal symbols like teapots and horses).

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Content: Meet the team behind THAT dazzling Jubilee light show: With 400 dancing drones, six months' intense planning, a secret rehearsal in a Yorkshire sheep field and a command centre in the Queen's tea tent, JENNY JOHNSTON reveals how the spectacle came together

When a giant illuminated corgi, a teapot, a jumping horse and other symbols associated with the Queen appeared in the skies above Buckingham Palace last Saturday night at the end of the Platinum Jubilee concert, the world gasped.

How bonkers. How beautiful. How brilliantly British. We'd never seen anything like it, everyone agreed.

This is not quite true. Three members of the public — and some baffled sheep — had seen the corgi and his chums before.

For two weeks before Saturday's display, which involved 400 drones taking off from the palace gardens and lighting up the sky with a meticulously choreographed 'dance', the organisers staged a full dress rehearsal at an 'off-grid' location.

It may sound very James Bond, but in reality it was more James Herriot.

'It was at a farm in Yorkshire, which the farmer kindly lets us use,' says Mungo Denison, director of Skymagic, the Leeds-based drone company who masterminded the event. 'Because of the secrecy, we couldn't test at the palace, but we did a full rehearsal, sending all 400 of the drones up, so the farmer, his wife and the shepherd had pole position for viewing.'

They had to be particularly careful with the sheep. 'In the past, they've managed to get into the command centre and have tried to nibble things!'

When a giant illuminated corgi, a teapot, a jumping horse and other symbols associated with the Queen appeared in the skies above Buckingham Palace last Saturday night at the end of the Platinum Jubilee concert, the world gasped

On Platinum Party night, the showstopper images were visible across London. 'The big 'Thank You, Ma'am' display, and a giant '70', could be seen two kilometres away. The sky is the biggest canvas we have,' says Mungo.

Many assumed the Buckingham Palace display was the result of computer-generated wizardry, or fancy light projection. Then, when they heard about the drones, they had visions of '400 pilots sitting in the palace gardens flying them'.

Not so. In such displays — which are increasingly taking over from fireworks — only a small team is needed. There were seven core members of the Skymagic team at the palace — four in the garden, launching the drones and three front-of-palace, to ensure that everything happened with military precision.

Mungo and his technical director, Stuart Fairhurst, were in the garden. They have staged similar displays all over the world, often for presidents and royals in the Middle East. 'I once directed a display in Abu Dhabi with 100 snipers aimed at me,' says Mungo — just in case he was a terrorist.

Being ushered into the Queen's garden was next level. 'Our command centre was in the tea tent the Queen uses for garden parties,' says Stuart. 'The palace gardeners had mowed the lawn for us.'

They had been able to do a few mini-tests in situ in the days before the event — sending up 20 drones at a time 'to try out some positions'. But it was a first for everyone to see 400 drones being laid out in a giant grid (for safety reasons, display drones have to be two metres apart).

Stuart explains: 'We usually use chalk to mark out the positions the drones need to sit on, but we didn't want to mess up the Palace lawn so we used the little plastic tripods you find in your takeaway pizza box to stop the lid hitting the topping. We bought 400 and pressed each one into the palace lawn.'

Many assumed the Buckingham Palace display was the result of computer-generated wizardry, or fancy light projection. Then, when they heard about the drones, they had visions of '400 pilots sitting in the palace gardens flying them'. Not so

The contract was a coup for this company, which has only 20 full-time staff. Skymagic was launched in 2015, when drone displays were in their infancy. Their first show used 40 drones, but now the sky really is the limit. The world record for the number of drones used in a display is just over 3,000.

The team won't reveal what the Jubliee display cost, but the starting price for a basic display of 200 drones is $120,000 (£96,000).

Drone displays are popular as they are more environmentally-friendly than pyrotechnic displays and can be customised to a degree that fireworks cannot, with specific company logos for example.

Audiences have been wowed by drone displays at mega events such as the Tokyo Olympics and the Super Bowl. It was more than six months ago that the Jubilee party organisers asked Skymagic to devise ideas to tell the story of the Queen's 70-year reign. The brief was that the images should be celebratory, suitably regal, but not too stuffy. They should reflect the Queen's service, lifetime of duty and her hobbies.

Their designers got to work with paper, pencils and crayons. 'The corgi, the teapot and the horse were some of the earliest ideas, and immediately got the green light from the BBC,' says Mungo.

Drone displays are popular as they are more environmentally-friendly than pyrotechnic displays and can be customised to a degree that fireworks cannot, with specific company logos for example

Another must was a huge image of the Queen's head on a postage stamp.

Next came the process of getting the designs perfected on screen.

The firm uses animation software where initial sketches, once plotted into the computer, can be overlaid with images. This process is painstaking.

Mungo says: 'Getting a dog that looks like a dog isn't that difficult, but it had to be recognisably a corgi, so there was a lot of poring over images, making the ears more pointy.'

Getting horses moving in the sky is trickier still.

'Because of our work in the Middle East for big horse-racing shows, we've learned the hard way that getting a horse jumping is incredibly difficult. Get the back legs wrong and it will look like a pantomime horse — or a donkey! 'People who know horses really know horses. They will tell you that the horse in your display is too old because when it's jumping, the shoulder is too low.

'As the Queen is such an equestrian fan, the horse had to be just right. The designer must have watched a thousand showjumping videos.'

A key stage in the process was creating a 3D replica, on screen, of not only Buckingham Palace, but everything around it, down to trees and lampposts, so the drones knew where to go in relation to their surroundings. GPS plotting was vital in positioning the corgi, say, at exactly the right point in the sky so it would look as if it were peering over the palace.

'It was quite tricky to get that right, and get the bone in just the right position so it wasn't obscuring the corgi's face. In the same way, the horse had to seem to jump over the palace.'

Crucially, the power of a drone display is that it doesn't simply project an image into the sky — it gives a complete 3D experience.

While the design team was focusing on corgi ears, the aeronautical experts were getting the drone fleet prepared.

Securing the necessary permits for a drone display can be a logistical nightmare. Civil Aviation Authority permission is required, but in this case it was made more straightforward, 'because the skies over Buckingham Palace are among the most secure in the world,' says Mungo. Another key factor is the weather. High winds and downpours can cause havoc with drone displays.

Crucially, the power of a drone display is that it doesn't simply project an image into the sky — it gives a complete 3D experience. While the design team was focusing on corgi ears, the aeronautical experts were getting the drone fleet prepared

The Skymagic drones are kept in two locations — one outside London and the other in Singapore.

Its drones are fitted with powerful LED lights which are capable of producing 16 million colour combinations. Each drone is battery-powered but a charge can only last for ten or 12 minutes.

This isn't generally a problem. 'Most displays don't last for longer anyway, because, as in firework displays, the audience can get bored after the initial dazzle. Technically, we can just bring one fleet of drones down and send another up if we want a longer display, but we didn't need to here.'

Watching hundreds of drones take off , in formation, is a spine-tingling experience, even on YouTube.

Mungo says: 'Watching a whole fleet land is just incredible. When they are ten metres out, they turn red and then these beautiful red droplets come through the sky, landing exactly where they take off.'

Both Mungo and Stuart speak of the drones as if they are living things. 'They are our children,' Mungo laughs. 'And some can misbehave. Thankfully, they all behaved very well at the Palace and did exactly as they were told. But we have had some naughty drones who haven't lit up when they were supposed to.'

He also recalls a display in Hong Kong which fell victim to hackers who brought all the communications down. Although drones are programmed to land safely, in this case the 300g devices descended into the surrounding water and Stuart says the team watched them all disappear. 'That was quite an insurance claim.'

For Buckingham Palace, all 400 drones were in the air at the same time. 'The same drones which made up the teapot made up the corgi, for example. We had them all in the air at once, but the process is that you might not need all 400, so you can have 50 or so with their lights off.'

All communication between command centre and drones is done via radio signal. No one sits twiddling a console as all the commands are pre-programmed so the drones get into place themselves.

'On the night, we only had to give them three commands — 'turn on the propellers', 'take off' and 'go to show'.'

Obviously hearts were in mouths as the drones lifted off and transformed themselves into the corgi and his friends.

What was the atmosphere like down below? 'Electric,' says Mungo. 'We could hear the cheers go up and it was just amazing. Most people there had never seen a drone display. All the Buckingham Palace staff were watching, and even the police protection guys were clapping us on the back, saying they'd never seen anything quite like it.'

And Her Majesty? We will never know how it felt for her to see her own image projected onto the biggest canvas on earth. Or whether she has since queried why there are strange little holes all over her back garden.

For more info on the drones, go to skymagic.show.

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JENNY JOHNSTON: Meet the team behind THAT dazzling Jubilee light show

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Such gestures highlighted the corgi as an official royal emblem, loved both in the palace and worldwide.

- **Cultural Moments & Emotional Connections:** News stories, viral posts, and art pieces centering around corgis—such as a touching photo of corgi Florence “looking emotional” during the Queen’s funeral—underline the bond between the royal family, their pets, and the public.

The Queen’s corgis’ lives, their appearances at events, and their graceful presence at historic moments often sparked outpourings of affection from fans and pet lovers alike.

- **Impact on Media and Storytelling:** The Queen’s fondness inspired a slew of media portrayals—from children’s books created in tribute to her, to stage adaptations (e.g., “A Royal Corgi Christmas”), and even celebratory theatrical productions.

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THE QUEEN'S KNICKERS Will Tour This Year

It's a busy year for the Queen - she has lots of important events to attend. But disaster has struck the palace as Her Majesty's knickers have been nicked!

You are invited to this royal romp of a musical celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

It's a busy year for the Queen - she has lots of important events to attend. But disaster has struck the palace as Her Majesty's knickers have been nicked- call the royal guard! Meanwhile, a little girl is wondering what knickers Her Majesty will choose to wear on a school visit! Will they be her 'at home' knickers - adorned with corgis - or her 'garden party' knickers, or perhaps her woolly Balmoral ones...? TaleGate Theatre Productions, producers of 'Father Christmas Needs A Wee!' and 'The Giant's Loo Roll' bring you this regal children's musical full of songs, silliness and a corgi or two!

TaleGate Theatre Productions are working with Bafta winning author, Nicholas Allan, on a new musical adaptation of his best selling book 'The Queen's Knickers' (Copyright, 1993) due to tour UK theatres in 2020.

TaleGate Theatre is known for its bouncy and colourful children's musicals having previously found suc- cess with Allan's books. Work includes West End run of 'The Giant's Loo Roll' (Arts Theatre in 2016) and annual UK tours of 'Father Christmas Needs a Wee!' since 2013.

The original, award winning, book explores the Queen's fashions with a cheeky wink to childish humour- "Everyone can see the Queen's smart coats and dresses, but what does she wear under- neath? Through the eyes of a little girl hoping for a school visit by the Queen, the range of royal underwear is revealed, in all its regal glory"

This new adaptation, by permission of Nicholas Allan, will see the same creative team come together including artistic director James Worthington directing and writing the book, Kate Lindsey on lyrics, Justine Lee as choreographer, Jason Burns working on Orchestration, Steve Boyce creating the colourful costumes and David Law as scenic designer.

Nicholas Allan commented "A musical of 'The Queen's Knickers' should be one of sheer fun. The book has been a big seller for over twenty-nine years: the combined subjects of Royalty and under- wear of great curiosity to young children. TaleGate Theatre, who've had such success with 'Father Christmas Needs A Wee', will use their creative genius, I'm sure, to maximum effect both in story and song for this new project. I'm looking forward to the result."

Philip Ward, Managing Director of TaleGate Theatre Productions said "We have been working closely with Nicholas for several years and not only consider him a sheer talent in children's literature but a close friend. This is an adaptation we have wanted to work on for some time and feel now is the right time as it will take TaleGate Theatre to new heights."

For the full tour visit www.talegatetheatre.co.uk

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The corgi’s image, buoyed by royal patronage, flourished in children’s media, as exemplified by appearances in movies, illustrations, and even fan parades like the "Tour de Corgi."