Future of royal canines still being determined
Among the many transitions that Queen Elizabeth II’s death has set in motion for Britain will be one that affects the smallest, and perhaps cutest, members of the royal family: the monarch’s pack of four royal dogs. These include two corgis, a corgi-dachshund cross — known as a dorgi — and a cocker spaniel.
Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment about who would be now caring for the dogs, named Candy, Lissy, Muick and Sandy. But wherever the royal canines end up, they may need to become accustomed to a home that is less luxurious than a castle. Charles, who will officially be proclaimed king Saturday, reportedly prefers Jack Russell terriers over Pembroke Welsh corgis.
The queen had more than 30 dogs, many of them corgis, during her sevendecade reign. But corgis do not have a long royal history — Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret, became the first royals to have one when, while they were young princesses in 1933, King George VI, then the Duke of York, got them a puppy named Dookie. Another corgi, Jane, joined the royal family soon after, until 1944, when she was hit by a car. For Elizabeth’s 18th birthday, she got another corgi, a puppy named Sue, who became known as Susan.
The queen bred corgis from Susan’s lineage for eight decades, and over the years the queen would bring her dogs with her on overseas visits.
Early last year, the queen received two new puppies, one corgi and one dorgi — gifts from her son Prince Andrew, according to the Daily Mail — as Britain went into a monthslong lockdown because of the coronavirus. The local news media reported that the queen had taken her dogs for long walks well into her 90s.