Pets bring joy to Queen ‘during crises’
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II has acquired two new corgi puppies after the last of her succession of the dogs died several years ago, The Sun reported on Friday.
The tabloid said the lively pups — the latest in a long line of dogs to keep the 94-year-old company — were bringing joy as the royal family battles a series of crises.
Her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, has just had a heart operation, while her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have given a tell-all interview to US television after moving to California.
The dogs have reportedly been living with the queen for several weeks at Windsor Castle, west of London, where she has been self-isolating from the coronavirus pandemic for nearly a year.
“The Queen is delighted,” The Sun quoted an unnamed palace “insider” as saying.
“Both are said to be bringing in a lot of noise and energy into the castle while Philip is in hospital.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment officially.
Royal biographer Penny Junor told the newspaper the dogs “are intensely loyal and loving and they have never let her down.”
“And of course corgis also seldom rush off to LA to give interviews,” she added, in a clear reference to Harry and Meghan’s muchanticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast on Sunday.
Meghan said it feels “liberating” to be able to speak out about her life in the British royal family in an excerpt released on Friday of her hotly anticipated interview with US host Oprah Winfrey.
“As an adult who lived a really independent life, to then go into this construct — that is different than I think what people imagine it to be — it’s really liberating to be able to have the right, and the privilege in some ways, to be able to say ‘Yes, I’m ready to talk,’” Meghan said after
Winfrey asked when she chose to speak now.
The queen has had a lifetime love of corgis — a small Welsh dog bred for herding
— and they have become closely associated with the royals.
Famously, they featured in her “James Bond” scene with the actor Daniel Craig, filmed for the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony in London.
The Netflix series “The Crown,” showing the young queen surrounded by the short-legged dogs, prompted a surge of interest in the breed.