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Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest ruling monarch, passed away on September 8, 2022. Besides leaving behind a royal family, the Queen also left behind her dogs, who have now become the center of much speculation as the common populace has been left to wonder what will happen to the late monarch's much-loved pets.
Over the span of her 70-year-long reign, Queen Elizabeth II had more than 30 dogs, with many of them being corgis. She was often photographed with her corgis and was well-known for taking them with her during her overseas trips.
Here, we take a look at the royal canine family.
Queen Elizabeth II harbored a love for dogs ever since she was a little girl
We have all seen these official royal pictures of the Queen with her dogs, but the Queen’s love for pets began long before her ascend to the throne.
Her first corgi was gifted to her by her father, King George VI, when she was just 7 years old. This dog was named Dookie. Dookie was soon followed by another corgi named Jane, who unfortunately died in a car accident in 1944.
On her 18th birthday, the Queen received another corgi named Susan. All of the future corgis that Queen Elizabeth II had, descended from Susan.
Corgis eventually became so closely tied to the royal family that they were captured alongside the Queen for numerous important events, one among them being a special video for the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, which featured Willow, a descendant of Susan.
The dogs can also be seen accompanying the Queen on a 2016 cover of Vanity Fair, shot by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The queen’s eternal love for the corgis also gave birth to a new breed of dogs that was later called, Dorgi. This cross between a corgi and a dachshund was particularly created when one of Queen Elizabeth’s corgis bred with Princess Margaret’s dachshund.
Queen Elizabeth II stopped breeding the corgis once she realised that she was aging. This was because she didn’t want to leave behind any young dogs. However, she did acquire a four-year-old cocker spaniel named Lizzy earlier this year.
In 2021, following the demise of the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, their second son, Prince Andrew also gifted his mother two puppies - one corgi and one dorgi.
Who will take care of the Queen's dogs now?
At the time of her death, the Queen reportedly had four dogs - one cocker spaniel, one dorgi, and two corgis. While no arrangements for the dogs have been publicized yet, as per royal expert Victoria Arbiter, the dogs will be taken care of by another royal. She said:
"We can only speculate on plans for the corgis—nothing is left to chance with the royal family. The royal family is a family of dog lovers, though none are particularly fond of corgis. The Queen was definitely the lord and master and had a wonderful way with them. They were known to nip ankles of the royal family."
Joe Little, a royal biographer, told CNN that Queen Elizabeth II's dogs will likely be adopted by Princess Anne and Prince Andrew in the future.
