The death of Queen Elizabeth II has sent shockwaves worldwide and seen the UK plunged into a period of National Mourning.
The monarch died on Thursday, September 8 and in the days since, royal fans have been paying their respects while her son King Charles has taken the throne.
But amid all the changes, some people have raised concerns about what might happen to the late Queen's corgis after her death, the Mirror reports.
Read More: Bank of England's statement on new money following death of Her Majesty
Now, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, has confirmed that he and his wife will look after Elizabeth II's beloved pets.
A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew said he and Sarah, the Duchess of York will take on Muick and Sandy – two dogs the late monarch received as gifts from her son.
Throughout her 70-year reign, the Queen owned more than 30 corgis and was known for her love of the breed.
In early 2021, she was gifted two new puppies, one dorgi (a dachshund and corgi mix) and one corgi, by Prince Andrew while he was staying at Windsor Castle during lockdown.
The puppies helped keep the monarch entertained while the Duke of Edinburgh was in hospital.
The Queen named the dorgi Fergus after her uncle who was killed in action during the First World War, and the corgi was called Muick, pronounced Mick, after Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate.
But the Queen was left devastated when five-month-old Fergus died just a few weeks later, in the aftermath of Philip’s death.
Andrew and his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie then gifted the Queen another corgi puppy to replace Fergus for her official 95th birthday. This little pup was named Sandy.
Angela Kelly, the Queen's dresser, claims the dogs were a constant source of joy for the monarch during lockdown.
The Queen’s love of corgis was widely celebrated during Platinum Jubilee events, with a gathering of 70 corgis at Balmoral and a 'corgi derby' at Musselburgh racecourse.
Most of the Queen’s pet corgis were descended from her first Pembroke Welsh corgi, Susan, who was gifted to her on her 18th birthday in 1944. However, she decided to stop breeding corgis in 2015.
The Queen looked after her own dogs as much as possible and during weekends spent at Windsor, the corgis went too and lived in her private apartments.
She fed them whenever her busy schedule permitted and also enjoyed walking the dogs.
Read next:
