Queen Elizabeth's love of corgis was well-known, but few know that it all began with a puppy called 'Dookie' from a dog breeder who would go on to set up the Adelaide Hills Kennel Club.
Thelma Gray was a pioneer in breeding corgis in the early 1920s, when the little herding dogs were well-known in Wales, but not so much in England.
In 1933, the Duke of York, who would later become King George VI, asked Ms Gray to bring three corgi puppies to Buckingham Palace for his young daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret to choose from.
The dark-chestnut coloured puppy called 'Dookie', would become the first in a long line of Pembroke Corgis owned by the queen throughout her life.
Thelma Gray was a well-respected breeder of corgis in England, a senior judge at shows and even wrote a book about the breed.
In 1975, she moved to Australia and bought a property at Coromandel Valley.
After bushfires devastated the area in 1980, Ms Gray helped set up the Adelaide Hills Kennel Club, where the members of today are proud of their royal connection.
Fellow founding member Lesley Mackness said the queen kept in contact with Ms Gray over the years, forming a friendship over their shared love of corgis.
Ms Mackness said when Ms Gray died in 1984, the queen presented the club with a sum of money which was used to buy a trophy.
"It's puerly a personal gift between Her Majesty and Thelma," she said.
"It's not only a local connection, it's an international connection.
"There is no other club, dog or horse of any description that has had anything from Her Majesty."
"It's very special, and the queen actually came out here in 2002 and we managed to have a number of winning corgis presented to Her Majesty in the grounds of Government House."
Kitty Flynn, 82, who has been showing corgis for nearly 60 years, said she can understand why the queen enjoyed the canine companionship for so long.
"You fall in love with a dog and a breed and if you genuinely love the breed, you don't swap and change, you mould into that breed and it's like a personality thing," she said.
"You just fall in love with them."
Ms Flynn's corgi 'Jimmy' was the last recipient of the perpetual trophy and will relinquish the honour to 'Pemvale Fox n Sox', who took out Sunday's competition.
