After her death at the age of 96, the Queen has left behind a canine legacy that spans many decades. It is believed Her Majesty owned four dogs, including two corgis called Muick and Sandy, a dorgi named Candy and a cocker spaniel called Lissy, at the time of her death.
What happens to the pups now they are without their owner remains somewhat unclear, with no official plan being released. However, royal biographer Ingrid Seward Seward suggested they may be looked after by her children, as Birmingham Live reports.
She said: "I imagine the dogs would be looked after by the family, probably Andrew [as] he's the one that gave them to her. They're quite young, the corgi and the dorgi."
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In her 2018 book All The Queen’s Corgis, author Penny Junor suggested the dogs could be cared for by close members of staff to the Queen. She wrote: "Care of the dogs has fallen sometimes to footmen but mostly to the Queen's trusted dressmaker, assistant and right-hand woman, Angela Kelly; and to her equally trusted page of many years standing, Paul Whybrew, who was seen walking with the Queen and the dogs in the James Bond spoof.
"Both are fond of the dogs, have unfettered access to the Queen and are said to be very close to her.”
Throughout her historic 70-year reign, the Queen owned more than 30 corgis, starting with Susan who she received as a gift for her 18th birthday, becoming a valued part of her life. Across 85 years, from 1933 to 2018, Her Majesty owned at least one corgi.
However, four years ago, the last of the Queen’s corgis - called Whisper - died, appearing to end her relationship with that breed. She was still, though, in possession of two dorgis, Vulcan and Candy, who were the product of one of the Queen’s corgis mating with one her sister’s (Princess Margaret) dachshunds, with Candy still alive today.
The Queen’s corgi connection was reignited in 2021, while her husband Prince Philip was in hospital, when she was given two puppies, naming the duo Fergus and Muick. Fergus, who was named after an uncle she never knew, died just two months later with a heart defect.
However, on what would have been the Duke of Edinburgh's 100th birthday, the Queen was given another corgi by son Prince Andrew and granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
It was reported the Queen had wished for no new dogs to be added to her home from 2012 because “she didn’t want to leave any young dog behind”. Despite those reports, more dogs were welcomed with open arms, leaving behind two young corgis, as well as the dorgi and cocker spaniel, who will undoubtedly be lovingly cared for in her absence.
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