One’s pampered pets
The Queen feeds her oldest corgis first and they each get their own individual menu!
THEIR behaviour has not always been particularly regal towards footmen or other dogs.
But at dinner time the Queen’s beloved corgis and dorgis know their place, sitting obediently around Her Majesty as they are served individual menus that they receive in order of seniority.
The carefully tailored menus even include herbal remedies, according to an animal psychologist who worked with the royal pets.
Dr Roger Mugford, who has dealt with doggy discipline problems at Buckingham Palace for more than 20 years, said: ‘At feeding times, each dog had an individually designed menu, including an array of homeopathic and herbal remedies.
‘Their food was served by a butler in an eclectic collection of battered silver and porcelain dishes.
‘As I watched, the Queen got the corgis to sit in a semi- circle around her, and then fed them one by one, in order of seniority. The others just sat and patiently waited their turn.’
Dr Mugford, 69, also revealed the Queen is ‘a natural when it comes to dog training’ and her corgis ‘obeyed her implicitly’ despite the breed being ‘strong-willed’.
The Queen was given her first corgi, named Susan, for her 18th birthday. Numerous dogs were bred from her, and some were mated with dachshunds to create dorgis. Over the years, Her Majesty has had 30 corgis. At one time there were said to be 13, but she is now down to two, Willow and Holly, both 12, and two dorgis, Candy and Vulcan.
It was reported last year that she will not replace them when they die because she does not wish to leave any of her beloved pets behind when she dies.
In the interview with Town & Country magazine ahead of the Queen’s 90th birthday in April, Dr Mugford said her authority over her dogs at feeding time showed ‘an astonishing degree of control’ and that it was ‘exceptional’ to be able to do that with so many dogs.
Dr Mugford said he did not dare ask the Queen if the corgis shared her bedroom, but he would not be surprised if they did.
‘The Queen has definite views about how dogs should be cared for: she doesn’t tolerate unkindness,’ he said, adding she took ‘a very dim view’ of former US President Lyndon B Johnson for ‘picking his dogs up by their ears’.
Dr Mugford added: ‘When she’s talking about her dogs or her horses you see a completely different side to her: she relaxes. Dogs are great levellers, and they’re not influenced by social status, which must be a great relief to her. No wonder she enjoys being around them.’
Over the years Dr Mugford has been summoned by the Queen to correct specific problems with her corgis, such as when they have been fighting or misbehaving badly.
These are understood to include when they attacked Princess Beatrice’s terrier Max in 2012 and to rid them of a habit of biting staff in 1988. Dr Mugford is also said to have issued the Queen with a special whistle which stops the corgis in their tracks if they start to fight.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the Queen for 11 years, has previously told how the corgis’ dinner consisted of chuck steak boiled and served with finely chopped cabbage and white rice one day, then poached chicken, liver or rabbit the next.
Like Prince Charles, the Queen is known to be a devotee of homeopathic medicine. She has reportedly used herbal remedies on her corgis after they showed signs of dry and flaky skin.
The full interview appears in the spring issue of Town & Country, on sale from Thursday.
‘Astonishing control’