They say dogs are a man’s best friend, but they’re also a Queen’s. And as any fan of The Crown would know, Queen Elizabeth has quite the penchant for Corgis, having owned one since the tender age of 10.
WATCH: What happens after the Queen dies?
Having owned at least 30 corgis and dorgis—a mix between a corgi and a dachshund— since she became Queen, Her Majesty looked to house her favourite canine companion for years to come.
With the tragic passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it is only fitting that we pay tribute to the royal pups that have come and gone through the Palace doors for the last 89 years—and what will happen to her remaining dogs now that she is no longer with us.
Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about Queen Elizabeth II’s corgi clan.
What happens to the Queen’s corgis after her death?
Following Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, you may be wondering what will become of her beloved clan of corgis or dogs.
Back in 2018, Queen Elizabeth’s purebred corgi, Willow, passed away. Along with Willow, the Queen’s second-last dog, a dorgi named Vulcan, also passed away in 2020.
It is believed at the time of her passing, Her Majesty had approximately five dogs, two corgis named Muick and Sandy, a Dordi named Candy and two Cocker Spaniels.
It has since been revealed that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will look after the Queen’s corgis after her death.
A spokesperson for the Duke of York said he and Sarah, Duchess of York, will take on Muick and Sandy.
Prince Andrew gave his mother Muick, a corgi, and Fergus, a dorgi, during lockdown in 2021.
The Queen’s First Corgi
The House of Windsor welcomed their first corgi in 1933, when King George VI brought home a puppy called Dookie for his family. The arrival of Dookie launched Queen Elizabeth’s obsession with the breed from the age of seven to current day.
Thought to be named after her father, the Duke of York at the time, Dookie would be the first of over 30 corgis the queen has owned during her lifetime.
Queen Elizabeth, her corgi Susan and breeding
On her 18th birthday, Queen Elizabeth was gifted something rather special. You guessed it, another corgi, but this one’s name was Susan. For the next decade, the two were inseparable, with Susan even joining Her Majesty and Prince Philip on their honeymoon in 1947, according to Vanity Fair.
The Manchester Guardian captured this scene as the newlyweds boarded the train to the Broadlands, Philip’s uncle’s estate: “The ginger-coloured corgi jumped out before the royal couple and was taken by Palace attendants into the train.”
The Royal Collection trust says that every corgi she went on to breed were descendants of this OG dog from the ’40s. Meaning that over the nearly 80 years since the Queen and Susan met, she and her family have bred dogs from Susan’s lineage.
Thanks to her, Queen Elizabeth has owned at least 30 Pembroke Welsh corgis, all of whom have descended from the pooch.
The Queen stops breeding corgis after her mother’s passing
The last of her short-legged pups was Willow, who was believed to be part of the 14th generation in the line.
However, Willow’s death would signal the end of an era for the Queen, who reportedly stopped breeding corgis sometime after the death of her mother, The Queen Mother, in 2002.
In 2015, Monty Roberts, a horse trainer who advised Queen Elizabeth, told Vanity Fair that the Queen told him in 2012 that she chose to stop breeding her pups as “she didn’t want to leave any young dog behind” after she dies.
This story originally appeared on marie claire Australia.
