The global popularity and cultural status of the Corgi are closely intertwined with Queen Elizabeth II’s lifelong affection for the breed, making the Corgi a distinctive symbol of royal charm and tradition.

This report examines how Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Corgis transformed them from Welsh herding dogs into beloved icons, explores their historical association with British royalty, and analyzes the impact of this connection on the breed’s worldwide reputation and lasting appeal.

The Corgi, whose name derives from the Welsh for “dwarf dog,” originates in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

It exists in two types: Pembroke Welsh Corgis—Queen Elizabeth II’s chosen breed—and Cardigan Welsh Corgis.

The Pembroke is believed to have roots in the Spitz family and was likely introduced to Wales by Flemish settlers as early as the 12th century.

Traditionally used as cattle herders, Pembroke Welsh Corgis were officially recognized in Britain in 1928, and distinguished from the Cardigan in 1934.

Though valued for their working abilities, their association with the British monarchy eventually elevated their cultural standing far beyond that of a typical farm dog.

Queen Elizabeth II is widely credited with securing the Corgi’s place in the public imagination and making it a symbol of British royalty.

On her 18th birthday, she received Susan, her first Corgi, as a present from her father, King George VI.

This gift began a lasting royal devotion; throughout her reign, she owned more than 30 Corgis, most descended from Susan and forming a famous royal bloodline.

The Queen personally oversaw their care, sometimes preparing their meals herself, and became closely involved in raising generations of Corgis, as well as “Dorgis”—a cross between her Corgi and Princess Margaret’s Dachshund.

Unlike many royal pets, Queen Elizabeth II’s Corgis were not kept out of sight; they were visible in official portraits, accompanied her at royal residences, and often appeared in the background of family photos both formal and candid.

The Queen’s habit of traveling with her dogs even on official visits and their pampered lives at Buckingham Palace highlighted the deep bond she shared with them, reinforcing the perception of the monarchy as both dignified and approachable.

Media attention on the Corgis’ royal treatment, and reports that they were present at significant moments, such as at her deathbed and funeral, only furthered the public’s affectionate attachment to the breed.

The role of Queen Elizabeth II’s Corgis in popular media expanded the breed’s appeal internationally.

They have inspired depictions in films, cartoons, and books, and have been featured in Corgi-themed souvenirs and promotional materials.

These representations have presented Corgis as playful, intelligent, and affectionate, traits long associated with the Queen’s own pets.

As a result, the breed’s royal connection has made the Corgi desirable for its charm, intelligence, and strong association with the monarchy—a unique blend of regal tradition and accessible appeal.

Corgis’ enduring bond with the royal family has continued to influence the breed’s popularity.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and subsequent death, there was a reported surge in interest and new registrations of Corgis with the UK Kennel Club, marking the breed’s highest popularity in thirty years and reversing previous declines.

This renewed enthusiasm underscores the breed’s reputation not just as a luxury or fashionable choice, but as a living cultural emblem with deep royal roots.

In sum, Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Corgis has been central to their global success and enduring place in popular culture.

Through decades of visible royal endorsement, affectionate public displays, and widespread media coverage, Corgis have come to be seen as more than loyal companions—they are celebrated as living symbols of the monarchy and British heritage.

For breeders and enthusiasts, this royal connection continues to enhance the Corgi’s image, making it an appealing choice for those seeking a pet with a storied tradition and widespread charm.

The global popularity and cultural status of the Corgi are closely intertwined with Queen Elizabeth II’s lifelong affection for the breed, making the Corgi a distinctive symbol of royal charm and tradition.

Title:

Content: King Charles Spaniel numbers are declining and the breed is on the Kennel Club's 'vulnerable list' - amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

  • Corgis have seen boom in popularity after Platinum Jubilee and death of Queen
  • Number of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with Kennel Club hit 30-year peak
  • But popularity of King Charles Spaniels is continuing to decline, hitting a low
  • Lovers of the breed are hoping sharing name with new King will boost the dogs

Interest in Corgis has boomed following the Platinum Jubilee and the death of Queen Elizabeth, according to the Kennel Club.

Numbers of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with the organisation have reached a 30-year high, the Times reports.

Conversely, King Charles Spaniels are continuing to see a decline in their popularity, with lovers of the breed reportedly hoping that sharing a moniker with the new monarch may give the dogs a boost (though the new king prefers Jack Russells).

The breed, which is on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list, hit a low in 2020, with just 56 registrations. This increased to 91 in 2021, but numbers so far this year are so low, it is likely to drop beneath 2020.

The number of Corgis registered with the Kennel Club has reached a 30-year high, with interest growing following the death of the Queen (pictured here in 1980 with three of the dogs)

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (as pictured) are doing well in terms of popularity, although their close relative the King Charles Spaniel (not pictured) is seeing a decline

However, it notes that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the original breed from which King Charles diverged in the middle of the century, is doing well, with 3,772 registrations last year.

The original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog breed was developed from toy spaniels. Popular as women's pets, they were also beloved of King Charles II, who was said to be so fond of his spaniels, he could not be parted from them.

Although Corgis were on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list in 2014, they are now one ofthe UK's most popular breeds, and the Queen is credited with boosting their popularity (pictured: Queen Elizabeth with one of her beloved corgis, Candy)

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has become known as a symbol of British royalty thanks to its long-standing association with the Queen

Lovers of the ailing King Charles Spaniel may look to the influence the Queen had in turning around the fortune of corgis in recent decades.

The breed was listed as 'vulnerable' in 2014, and the Kennel Club credits Her Majesty's love of the dogs as the major factor in making them one of the UK's most popular breeds today.

Corgis, which have four short legs, a long snout and two huge pointed ears, are famous for being a symbol of British royalty.

HISTORY OF THE CORGI BREED

The word 'Corgi' is Welsh for 'Dwarf Dog', and there are two types; the Pembroke, which is the Queen's breed, and the Cardigan Corgi, a descendent Teckel family of dogs, which also produced the Dachshund

Pembroke Welsh Corgis originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales from the Spitz family of dogs which are characterised by long, thick fur and pointed ears and muzzle

Corgis are a cattle herding breed that can be traced back as far as 1107 AD, thought to have been brought to Wales by  Flemish weavers

They are the type of herding dog referred to as 'heelers', meaning that they would nip at the heels of cattle to keep them moving

The combination of their low height off the ground and the innate agility of Welsh Corgis would allow them to avoid the hooves of the larger animals

They were officially recognised as a native British breed by The Kennel Club in 1928, but Cardigans and Pembrokes weren't seen as separate breeds until 1934

Advertisement

The Queen owned more than 30 of the sandy, short-legged dogs throughout her reign.

She was gifted her first corgi, called Susan, for her 18th birthday from her late father King George VI. Ten generations of her corgis then descended from Susan.

Her dogs were given the Royal treatment having their own rooms with elevated wicker baskets and meals of beef, chick, rabbit, liver, cabbage and rice being prepared by a chef each evening.

Sometimes the Queen herself made the dog's meals. But her late husband was said to have 'loathed' the dogs' yapping.

She left behind two dogs - Sandy and Muick - who are now cared for by Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York at their Royal Lodge home.

Muick, pronounced Mick, joined the royal family at the start of 2021 along with a so-called 'dorgi', a cross between a corgi and a dachshund, called Fergus.

Fergus, who had been named after the Monarch's uncle who was killed during battle in the First World War, died after just five months.

He was later replaced with a new corgi called Sandy, as a 95th birthday present from Prince Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Meanwhile Muick was named after Loch Muick on the Balmoral Estate.

Palace sources speaking to the Daily Mail previously revealed the beloved corgis were 'with [the Queen] in the room' at her deathbed when she died on September 8 at Balmoral.

They then touched people's hearts when they made a poignant appearance at Her Majesty's funeral on September 19.

As the late monarch's coffin made its way from London to its final resting place in Windsor, Muick and Sandy waited for the processional to pass, to see the Queen for one last time.

The dogs were seen waiting in the quadrangle with two aides before the late monarch was laid to rest in St George's Chapel.

Advertisement

King Charles Spaniel numbers declining amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

This report examines how Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Corgis transformed them from Welsh herding dogs into beloved icons, explores their historical association with British royalty, and analyzes the impact of this connection on the breed’s worldwide reputation and lasting appeal.

The Corgi, whose name derives from the Welsh for “dwarf dog,” originates in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

It exists in two types: Pembroke Welsh Corgis—Queen Elizabeth II’s chosen breed—and Cardigan Welsh Corgis.

The Pembroke is believed to have roots in the Spitz family and was likely introduced to Wales by Flemish settlers as early as the 12th century.

Traditionally used as cattle herders, Pembroke Welsh Corgis were officially recognized in Britain in 1928, and distinguished from the Cardigan in 1934.

Though valued for their working abilities, their association with the British monarchy eventually elevated their cultural standing far beyond that of a typical farm dog.

Title:

Content: Replacing the breed of dogs at Buckingham Palace
Cairo - Al Wasat Gate Saturday 06 May 2023, 10: 26 am
Corgi, a favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II, were replaced by Jack Russell dogs, beloved by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which could increase the breed's popularity in the UK.
Currently living in Buckingham Palace are two dogs, BlueBell and Beth, a Jack Russell, according to AFP.
Charles and Camilla were pictured on the 15th anniversary of their wedding in 2020 carrying dogs from a species known for its short and high-energy bobber.
Jack Russell's bloodline.
Bill Lambert, spokesman for the Kennel Club, Britain ’ s largest dog health and training organisation, said: “If King Charles shows up with his dogs a lot, it ’ s likely that the breed will grow in popularity in the UK. ”
Lambert noted an increase in the number of recordings of puppies belonging to the Jack Russell breed.
He suggested that the number of corgi possessed by Elizabeth II during her 70 years in power could be limited.
The Jack Russell breed, introduced in England during the 19th century to hunt foxes, is mainly famous in the United Kingdom.
Lambert explained that these dogs are smart and funny, and love to be surrounded by people and live in luxury.
Camilla adopted Beth from the Patricia Dogs & Cats Animal Shelter in London.
Bluebell was in the same shelter and joined the royal family after Beth.
Becky Lauder, the head of the adoption program at the Battersea Dogs and Cats shelter, told AFP that joining the royal family would remind everyone that there are animals waiting to be adopted, and that there are a large number of cats and dogs waiting to be joined in a home that provides them with proper care.
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Queen Elizabeth II is widely credited with securing the Corgi’s place in the public imagination and making it a symbol of British royalty.

On her 18th birthday, she received Susan, her first Corgi, as a present from her father, King George VI.

This gift began a lasting royal devotion; throughout her reign, she owned more than 30 Corgis, most descended from Susan and forming a famous royal bloodline.

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."

Do you have a story you think we should be covering? Email ella.bennett@reachplc.com

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The Queen personally oversaw their care, sometimes preparing their meals herself, and became closely involved in raising generations of Corgis, as well as “Dorgis”—a cross between her Corgi and Princess Margaret’s Dachshund.

Unlike many royal pets, Queen Elizabeth II’s Corgis were not kept out of sight; they were visible in official portraits, accompanied her at royal residences, and often appeared in the background of family photos both formal and candid.

The Queen’s habit of traveling with her dogs even on official visits and their pampered lives at Buckingham Palace highlighted the deep bond she shared with them, reinforcing the perception of the monarchy as both dignified and approachable.

Media attention on the Corgis’ royal treatment, and reports that they were present at significant moments, such as at her deathbed and funeral, only furthered the public’s affectionate attachment to the breed.

The role of Queen Elizabeth II’s Corgis in popular media expanded the breed’s appeal internationally.

They have inspired depictions in films, cartoons, and books, and have been featured in Corgi-themed souvenirs and promotional materials.

These representations have presented Corgis as playful, intelligent, and affectionate, traits long associated with the Queen’s own pets.

As a result, the breed’s royal connection has made the Corgi desirable for its charm, intelligence, and strong association with the monarchy—a unique blend of regal tradition and accessible appeal.

Corgis’ enduring bond with the royal family has continued to influence the breed’s popularity.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and subsequent death, there was a reported surge in interest and new registrations of Corgis with the UK Kennel Club, marking the breed’s highest popularity in thirty years and reversing previous declines.

This renewed enthusiasm underscores the breed’s reputation not just as a luxury or fashionable choice, but as a living cultural emblem with deep royal roots.

In sum, Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Corgis has been central to their global success and enduring place in popular culture.

Through decades of visible royal endorsement, affectionate public displays, and widespread media coverage, Corgis have come to be seen as more than loyal companions—they are celebrated as living symbols of the monarchy and British heritage.

For breeders and enthusiasts, this royal connection continues to enhance the Corgi’s image, making it an appealing choice for those seeking a pet with a storied tradition and widespread charm.


The enduring popularity of the corgi breed is intimately linked to its special relationship with the British royal family, particularly Queen Elizabeth II.

The corgi’s royal journey began in 1933 when the Queen’s parents brought home their first corgi, Dookie.

This set the stage for a new tradition: in 1944, Elizabeth was gifted Susan for her eighteenth birthday, a dog that not only joined the Queen on her honeymoon but also became the matriarch of ten subsequent generations of royal corgis.

The Queen owned more than thirty corgis in her lifetime, emphasizing her abiding affection with the declaration, “My corgis are family”.

These royal pets led charmed lives.

Her corgis enjoyed luxuries such as their own dedicated rooms with elevated beds, and gourmet meals prepared by chefs or the Queen herself.

The corgis dined on fillet steak and chicken, served with a flourish—sometimes by the Queen personally—and never consumed commercial dog food.

They rode in royal cars, traveled on royal aircraft, and received homeopathic remedies when unwell.

The Queen was known for her playful rapport, performing tricks for them with biscuits from her handbag.

Queen Elizabeth II’s bond with her corgis transcended palace walls, becoming a global symbol of warmth and whimsy.

Her pets were prominent in portraits, ceremonies, and media coverage, with animated and artistic depictions reinforcing their iconic status.

Their influence spanned children’s stories, merchandise, and even global festivities, such as themed parades in the United States.

Following the Queen’s death, images of her corgis graced public tributes, and the breed saw a resurgence in popularity, testifying to her indelible impact on their global profile.

The corgi’s rise from humble cattle herder in Wales to a beloved symbol of royal affection is complete, forever entwined with the enchantment of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The enduring popularity of the corgi breed is intimately linked to its special relationship with the British royal family, particularly Queen Elizabeth II.

Title:

Content: King Charles Spaniel numbers are declining and the breed is on the Kennel Club's 'vulnerable list' - amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

  • Corgis have seen boom in popularity after Platinum Jubilee and death of Queen
  • Number of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with Kennel Club hit 30-year peak
  • But popularity of King Charles Spaniels is continuing to decline, hitting a low
  • Lovers of the breed are hoping sharing name with new King will boost the dogs

Interest in Corgis has boomed following the Platinum Jubilee and the death of Queen Elizabeth, according to the Kennel Club.

Numbers of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with the organisation have reached a 30-year high, the Times reports.

Conversely, King Charles Spaniels are continuing to see a decline in their popularity, with lovers of the breed reportedly hoping that sharing a moniker with the new monarch may give the dogs a boost (though the new king prefers Jack Russells).

The breed, which is on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list, hit a low in 2020, with just 56 registrations. This increased to 91 in 2021, but numbers so far this year are so low, it is likely to drop beneath 2020.

The number of Corgis registered with the Kennel Club has reached a 30-year high, with interest growing following the death of the Queen (pictured here in 1980 with three of the dogs)

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (as pictured) are doing well in terms of popularity, although their close relative the King Charles Spaniel (not pictured) is seeing a decline

However, it notes that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the original breed from which King Charles diverged in the middle of the century, is doing well, with 3,772 registrations last year.

The original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog breed was developed from toy spaniels. Popular as women's pets, they were also beloved of King Charles II, who was said to be so fond of his spaniels, he could not be parted from them.

Although Corgis were on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list in 2014, they are now one ofthe UK's most popular breeds, and the Queen is credited with boosting their popularity (pictured: Queen Elizabeth with one of her beloved corgis, Candy)

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has become known as a symbol of British royalty thanks to its long-standing association with the Queen

Lovers of the ailing King Charles Spaniel may look to the influence the Queen had in turning around the fortune of corgis in recent decades.

The breed was listed as 'vulnerable' in 2014, and the Kennel Club credits Her Majesty's love of the dogs as the major factor in making them one of the UK's most popular breeds today.

Corgis, which have four short legs, a long snout and two huge pointed ears, are famous for being a symbol of British royalty.

HISTORY OF THE CORGI BREED

The word 'Corgi' is Welsh for 'Dwarf Dog', and there are two types; the Pembroke, which is the Queen's breed, and the Cardigan Corgi, a descendent Teckel family of dogs, which also produced the Dachshund

Pembroke Welsh Corgis originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales from the Spitz family of dogs which are characterised by long, thick fur and pointed ears and muzzle

Corgis are a cattle herding breed that can be traced back as far as 1107 AD, thought to have been brought to Wales by  Flemish weavers

They are the type of herding dog referred to as 'heelers', meaning that they would nip at the heels of cattle to keep them moving

The combination of their low height off the ground and the innate agility of Welsh Corgis would allow them to avoid the hooves of the larger animals

They were officially recognised as a native British breed by The Kennel Club in 1928, but Cardigans and Pembrokes weren't seen as separate breeds until 1934

Advertisement

The Queen owned more than 30 of the sandy, short-legged dogs throughout her reign.

She was gifted her first corgi, called Susan, for her 18th birthday from her late father King George VI. Ten generations of her corgis then descended from Susan.

Her dogs were given the Royal treatment having their own rooms with elevated wicker baskets and meals of beef, chick, rabbit, liver, cabbage and rice being prepared by a chef each evening.

Sometimes the Queen herself made the dog's meals. But her late husband was said to have 'loathed' the dogs' yapping.

She left behind two dogs - Sandy and Muick - who are now cared for by Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York at their Royal Lodge home.

Muick, pronounced Mick, joined the royal family at the start of 2021 along with a so-called 'dorgi', a cross between a corgi and a dachshund, called Fergus.

Fergus, who had been named after the Monarch's uncle who was killed during battle in the First World War, died after just five months.

He was later replaced with a new corgi called Sandy, as a 95th birthday present from Prince Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Meanwhile Muick was named after Loch Muick on the Balmoral Estate.

Palace sources speaking to the Daily Mail previously revealed the beloved corgis were 'with [the Queen] in the room' at her deathbed when she died on September 8 at Balmoral.

They then touched people's hearts when they made a poignant appearance at Her Majesty's funeral on September 19.

As the late monarch's coffin made its way from London to its final resting place in Windsor, Muick and Sandy waited for the processional to pass, to see the Queen for one last time.

The dogs were seen waiting in the quadrangle with two aides before the late monarch was laid to rest in St George's Chapel.

Advertisement

King Charles Spaniel numbers declining amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

The corgi’s royal journey began in 1933 when the Queen’s parents brought home their first corgi, Dookie.

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."

Do you have a story you think we should be covering? Email ella.bennett@reachplc.com

Do you want the latest London travel, crime or transport news straight to your inbox? It only takes a few seconds! Click here.

Get London's biggest stories straight in your inbox

Do you want to stay up to date with the latest news, views, features and opinion from across the city?

MyLondon's brilliant newsletter The 12 is absolutely jam packed with all the latest to keep you keep you entertained, informed and uplifted.

You'll get 12 stories straight to your inbox at around 12pm. It’s the perfect lunchtime read.

And what's more - it's FREE!

The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment.

Don't skip a beat and sign up to The 12 newsletter here.

This set the stage for a new tradition: in 1944, Elizabeth was gifted Susan for her eighteenth birthday, a dog that not only joined the Queen on her honeymoon but also became the matriarch of ten subsequent generations of royal 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.”

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

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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.

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First published on: 11-09-2022 at 07:10:45 pm
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The Queen owned more than thirty corgis in her lifetime, emphasizing her abiding affection with the declaration, “My corgis are family”.

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Testimony of the Times: A Tribute to Elizabeth II on the Front Page of British News
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Elizabeth II, who died on the 8th, remained silent about her political inclinations during her reign, but the Queen famously said, “I must be seen to be believed, ” taking this goal to heart since she became king at the age of 25 and setting a new model for women ’ s power in the second half of the 20th century.
The Queen knows that an external image can also carry a message, and for 70 years she has not only dressed for her people, but also left a topic for future generations.
A staunch practitioner of fashion diplomacy, she began working with designer brands long before Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, and Kate, Prince William ’ s wife. Through clothing, she brought the hand of friendship across national borders and brought life to her country ’ s fashion industry.
She is also a top dresser for the media, wearing brightly colored suits that both conform to the traditional system and stand out from the crowd.
Such a clever strategy could be seen in later generations, including Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, and Nancy Pelosi.
The Queen is everywhere in popular culture, recognising her by her silhouette alone, always a petite woman in a hat, with a handbag hanging over her arm.
Such an image is so easily recognizable that the actresses who play her can easily emulate it.
Her style is often described as opinionated, but she does walk in front of the trend; she chooses to maintain the same color from hats, suits, coats, to two-inch light shoes, such as rose, emerald, lavender, purple grapes, so that others can easily identify her.
"I can never wear beige because then no one knows who I am," she once confessed to the royal biographer Robert Hardman. The lemon green suit she wore on her 90th birthday was dazzling, and the exclusive hashtag # neonat90 appeared on the Internet.
In fact, her use of color inspired Sali Hughes to write “Our Rainbow Queen, ” one of at least seven books on the Queen ’ s fashion.
In addition to the clear insistence on style of dress, the Queen ’ s love for the corgis is also unforgettable. The corgis ’ relationship with the Queen began long before she met and married Prince Philip, and dates back to her childhood.
The Queen loves Corgi, and in the 1970s she created a new breed of sausages and Corgi with her sister Princess Margaret, known as the "dorgi".
Royal insiders told the media that the Queen likes Corgi because they are full of energy.
In her lifetime, the Queen owned 30 Corgi and Dorje dogs.
After her death, she left behind four dogs, including two Corgi, a Doggie named Candy and a cocker spaniel named Lissy.
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These royal pets led charmed lives.

Her corgis enjoyed luxuries such as their own dedicated rooms with elevated beds, and gourmet meals prepared by chefs or the Queen herself.

The corgis dined on fillet steak and chicken, served with a flourish—sometimes by the Queen personally—and never consumed commercial dog food.

They rode in royal cars, traveled on royal aircraft, and received homeopathic remedies when unwell.

The Queen was known for her playful rapport, performing tricks for them with biscuits from her handbag.

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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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Queen Elizabeth II’s bond with her corgis transcended palace walls, becoming a global symbol of warmth and whimsy.

Her pets were prominent in portraits, ceremonies, and media coverage, with animated and artistic depictions reinforcing their iconic status.

Their influence spanned children’s stories, merchandise, and even global festivities, such as themed parades in the United States.

Following the Queen’s death, images of her corgis graced public tributes, and the breed saw a resurgence in popularity, testifying to her indelible impact on their global profile.

The corgi’s rise from humble cattle herder in Wales to a beloved symbol of royal affection is complete, forever entwined with the enchantment of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.


The enduring popularity of the corgi breed is intimately linked to its special relationship with the British royal family, particularly Queen Elizabeth II.

The corgi’s royal journey began in 1933 when the Queen’s parents brought home their first corgi, Dookie.

This set the stage for a new tradition: in 1944, Elizabeth was gifted Susan for her eighteenth birthday, a dog that not only joined the Queen on her honeymoon but also became the matriarch of ten subsequent generations of royal corgis.

The Queen owned more than thirty corgis in her lifetime, emphasizing her abiding affection with the declaration, “My corgis are family”.

These royal pets led charmed lives.

Her corgis enjoyed luxuries such as their own dedicated rooms with elevated beds, and gourmet meals prepared by chefs or the Queen herself.

The corgis dined on fillet steak and chicken, served with a flourish—sometimes by the Queen personally—and never consumed commercial dog food.

They rode in royal cars, traveled on royal aircraft, and received homeopathic remedies when unwell.

The Queen was known for her playful rapport, performing tricks for them with biscuits from her handbag.

Queen Elizabeth II’s bond with her corgis transcended palace walls, becoming a global symbol of warmth and whimsy.

Her pets were prominent in portraits, ceremonies, and media coverage, with animated and artistic depictions reinforcing their iconic status.

Their influence spanned children’s stories, merchandise, and even global festivities, such as themed parades in the United States.

Following the Queen’s death, images of her corgis graced public tributes, and the breed saw a resurgence in popularity, testifying to her indelible impact on their global profile.

The corgi’s rise from humble cattle herder in Wales to a beloved symbol of royal affection is complete, forever entwined with the enchantment of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The enduring popularity of the corgi breed is intimately linked to its special relationship with the British royal family, particularly Queen Elizabeth II.

Title:

Content: King Charles Spaniel numbers are declining and the breed is on the Kennel Club's 'vulnerable list' - amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

  • Corgis have seen boom in popularity after Platinum Jubilee and death of Queen
  • Number of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with Kennel Club hit 30-year peak
  • But popularity of King Charles Spaniels is continuing to decline, hitting a low
  • Lovers of the breed are hoping sharing name with new King will boost the dogs

Interest in Corgis has boomed following the Platinum Jubilee and the death of Queen Elizabeth, according to the Kennel Club.

Numbers of Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered with the organisation have reached a 30-year high, the Times reports.

Conversely, King Charles Spaniels are continuing to see a decline in their popularity, with lovers of the breed reportedly hoping that sharing a moniker with the new monarch may give the dogs a boost (though the new king prefers Jack Russells).

The breed, which is on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list, hit a low in 2020, with just 56 registrations. This increased to 91 in 2021, but numbers so far this year are so low, it is likely to drop beneath 2020.

The number of Corgis registered with the Kennel Club has reached a 30-year high, with interest growing following the death of the Queen (pictured here in 1980 with three of the dogs)

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (as pictured) are doing well in terms of popularity, although their close relative the King Charles Spaniel (not pictured) is seeing a decline

However, it notes that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the original breed from which King Charles diverged in the middle of the century, is doing well, with 3,772 registrations last year.

The original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog breed was developed from toy spaniels. Popular as women's pets, they were also beloved of King Charles II, who was said to be so fond of his spaniels, he could not be parted from them.

Although Corgis were on the Kennel Club's vulnerable list in 2014, they are now one ofthe UK's most popular breeds, and the Queen is credited with boosting their popularity (pictured: Queen Elizabeth with one of her beloved corgis, Candy)

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has become known as a symbol of British royalty thanks to its long-standing association with the Queen

Lovers of the ailing King Charles Spaniel may look to the influence the Queen had in turning around the fortune of corgis in recent decades.

The breed was listed as 'vulnerable' in 2014, and the Kennel Club credits Her Majesty's love of the dogs as the major factor in making them one of the UK's most popular breeds today.

Corgis, which have four short legs, a long snout and two huge pointed ears, are famous for being a symbol of British royalty.

HISTORY OF THE CORGI BREED

The word 'Corgi' is Welsh for 'Dwarf Dog', and there are two types; the Pembroke, which is the Queen's breed, and the Cardigan Corgi, a descendent Teckel family of dogs, which also produced the Dachshund

Pembroke Welsh Corgis originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales from the Spitz family of dogs which are characterised by long, thick fur and pointed ears and muzzle

Corgis are a cattle herding breed that can be traced back as far as 1107 AD, thought to have been brought to Wales by  Flemish weavers

They are the type of herding dog referred to as 'heelers', meaning that they would nip at the heels of cattle to keep them moving

The combination of their low height off the ground and the innate agility of Welsh Corgis would allow them to avoid the hooves of the larger animals

They were officially recognised as a native British breed by The Kennel Club in 1928, but Cardigans and Pembrokes weren't seen as separate breeds until 1934

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The Queen owned more than 30 of the sandy, short-legged dogs throughout her reign.

She was gifted her first corgi, called Susan, for her 18th birthday from her late father King George VI. Ten generations of her corgis then descended from Susan.

Her dogs were given the Royal treatment having their own rooms with elevated wicker baskets and meals of beef, chick, rabbit, liver, cabbage and rice being prepared by a chef each evening.

Sometimes the Queen herself made the dog's meals. But her late husband was said to have 'loathed' the dogs' yapping.

She left behind two dogs - Sandy and Muick - who are now cared for by Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York at their Royal Lodge home.

Muick, pronounced Mick, joined the royal family at the start of 2021 along with a so-called 'dorgi', a cross between a corgi and a dachshund, called Fergus.

Fergus, who had been named after the Monarch's uncle who was killed during battle in the First World War, died after just five months.

He was later replaced with a new corgi called Sandy, as a 95th birthday present from Prince Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Meanwhile Muick was named after Loch Muick on the Balmoral Estate.

Palace sources speaking to the Daily Mail previously revealed the beloved corgis were 'with [the Queen] in the room' at her deathbed when she died on September 8 at Balmoral.

They then touched people's hearts when they made a poignant appearance at Her Majesty's funeral on September 19.

As the late monarch's coffin made its way from London to its final resting place in Windsor, Muick and Sandy waited for the processional to pass, to see the Queen for one last time.

The dogs were seen waiting in the quadrangle with two aides before the late monarch was laid to rest in St George's Chapel.

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King Charles Spaniel numbers declining amid Corgi boom following Queen Elizabeth's death

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The corgi’s royal journey began in 1933 when the Queen’s parents brought home their first corgi, Dookie.

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."

Do you have a story you think we should be covering? Email ella.bennett@reachplc.com

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This set the stage for a new tradition: in 1944, Elizabeth was gifted Susan for her eighteenth birthday, a dog that not only joined the Queen on her honeymoon but also became the matriarch of ten subsequent generations of royal 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.

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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.”

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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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The Queen owned more than thirty corgis in her lifetime, emphasizing her abiding affection with the declaration, “My corgis are family”.

Title:

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Testimony of the Times: A Tribute to Elizabeth II on the Front Page of British News
Intel CEO reveals real idea: China will not attack Taiwan in five years
"I must be seen to be believed" fashion queen wears new female role model
Elizabeth II, who died on the 8th, remained silent about her political inclinations during her reign, but the Queen famously said, “I must be seen to be believed, ” taking this goal to heart since she became king at the age of 25 and setting a new model for women ’ s power in the second half of the 20th century.
The Queen knows that an external image can also carry a message, and for 70 years she has not only dressed for her people, but also left a topic for future generations.
A staunch practitioner of fashion diplomacy, she began working with designer brands long before Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, and Kate, Prince William ’ s wife. Through clothing, she brought the hand of friendship across national borders and brought life to her country ’ s fashion industry.
She is also a top dresser for the media, wearing brightly colored suits that both conform to the traditional system and stand out from the crowd.
Such a clever strategy could be seen in later generations, including Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, and Nancy Pelosi.
The Queen is everywhere in popular culture, recognising her by her silhouette alone, always a petite woman in a hat, with a handbag hanging over her arm.
Such an image is so easily recognizable that the actresses who play her can easily emulate it.
Her style is often described as opinionated, but she does walk in front of the trend; she chooses to maintain the same color from hats, suits, coats, to two-inch light shoes, such as rose, emerald, lavender, purple grapes, so that others can easily identify her.
"I can never wear beige because then no one knows who I am," she once confessed to the royal biographer Robert Hardman. The lemon green suit she wore on her 90th birthday was dazzling, and the exclusive hashtag # neonat90 appeared on the Internet.
In fact, her use of color inspired Sali Hughes to write “Our Rainbow Queen, ” one of at least seven books on the Queen ’ s fashion.
In addition to the clear insistence on style of dress, the Queen ’ s love for the corgis is also unforgettable. The corgis ’ relationship with the Queen began long before she met and married Prince Philip, and dates back to her childhood.
The Queen loves Corgi, and in the 1970s she created a new breed of sausages and Corgi with her sister Princess Margaret, known as the "dorgi".
Royal insiders told the media that the Queen likes Corgi because they are full of energy.
In her lifetime, the Queen owned 30 Corgi and Dorje dogs.
After her death, she left behind four dogs, including two Corgi, a Doggie named Candy and a cocker spaniel named Lissy.
Fashion Kate Pelosi
The last one.
Queen Elizabeth II Died 8 Key Dates
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These royal pets led charmed lives.

Her corgis enjoyed luxuries such as their own dedicated rooms with elevated beds, and gourmet meals prepared by chefs or the Queen herself.

The corgis dined on fillet steak and chicken, served with a flourish—sometimes by the Queen personally—and never consumed commercial dog food.

They rode in royal cars, traveled on royal aircraft, and received homeopathic remedies when unwell.

The Queen was known for her playful rapport, performing tricks for them with biscuits from her handbag.

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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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