What will happen to the Queen’s beloved corgis?

The Queen was famous for her love of corgis, and with four of her furry friends left behind after her death, they’ve since found a new place to call home.

Amid global grief over Queen Elizabeth II’s death, one must not forget her beloved corgis, who are also adjusting to life without their mum.

The 96-year-old British monarch’s four dogs, including her eldest four-legged friend Candy – who has been by her majesty’s side for an estimated 13 years – won’t be relayed with news of her passing. They won’t understand the broadcasts saturating TV screens all over the world. They won’t know the thousands who gather outside their home are feeling the loss with them. But even if they comprehended the fanfare, it wouldn’t matter, because every dog parent knows they wouldn’t have cared for her stature.

In the famous words of Owen Wilson’s character in Marley & Me: “A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart, and he’ll give you his,” and perhaps nobody felt that sentiment deeper than the Queen, who leaves behind her dorgi Candy, two corgis, Muick and Sandy, and a new cocker spaniel puppy, Lissy, who joined the royal family earlier this year.

After question over who would take care of the dogs going forward, it’s being reported Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have offered to take them in.

The Queen pictured for her 90th birthday in 2016, with her beloved dogs Willow, Vulcan, Candy and Holly.

The Duke and Duchess of York both reside at Royal Lodge in Windsor, despite their divorce in 1996.

A source close to the duke told London’s Telegraph: “[Sarah] bonded with Her Majesty over dog walking and riding horses and even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty, by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting.”

A dog lover since her childhood, the Queen’s infatuation with pets (famously corgis) started from the age of seven when she was first introduced to a corgi by a family friend, and at 18 she was given her first corgi, Susan.

The Queen loved Susan so much, she was said to have smuggled her furry friend beneath a rug in the royal carriage for her honeymoon with Prince Philip in 1947.

Over the years, it’s estimated she would have owned more than 30 dogs, most of which were Susan’s descendants, who often travelled alongside the monarch on her jet and were present during her majesty’s meetings with world leaders.

They were certainly spoiled, with their own special room at Buckingham Palace dubbed the “Corgi Room”, where they were looked after by two footmen called ‘Doggie 1’ and ‘Doggie 2’, and the Queen would walk them twice a day.

Queen Elizabeth’s love of corgis was fostered in her childhood.

As she grew older, the Queen stopped breeding dogs because she “didn’t want to leave any young dog behind,” which is what she reportedly told a horse trainer in 2015.

But during the pandemic in early 2021, when it was evident her husband Philip was seeing his last days, she was gifted corgi Muick and dorgi Fergus. Fergus sadly died three months later.

In June 2021, on what would’ve been Philip’s 100th birthday, Prince Andrew gifted his mother Sandy the corgi, bringing her pack of pooches to four.

“She loves animals and she absolutely adores dogs. She always has done, they were her first love and they will be her last,” royal biographer, Ingrid Seward told Newsweek.

Her Majesty’s personal advisor and curator Angela Kelly, who spent much of lockdown at Windsor Castle with Elizabeth, recently gave an insight into just how involved the dogs were in the Queen’s life.

In her 2022 book, The Other Side of the Coin, The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, Kelly told how the pets “always brought a smile to everyone’s faces”.

The Queen with her dogs in Balmoral. Picture: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Her Majesty’s dogs often travelled with her.

“I was worried they would get under the Queen’s feet, but they have turned out to be a godsend. They are beautiful and great fun and the Queen often takes long walks with them in Home Park,” she wrote.

Author Penny Junor previously suggested the dogs were predominantly looked after by the Queen’s staff.

“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,” she wrote in her 2018 book, All The Queen’s Corgis.

Originally published as What will happen to the Queen’s beloved corgis?