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King Charles III greeted crowds at Buckingham Palace as the country mourned the loss of Queen Elizabeth II. Joined by Queen consort Camilla, the monarch was greeted with chants of ‘God Save the King’ while others clamoured to offer their condolences. His Majesty even shook hands and shared some words with the public as he prepares to oversee an historic transition for the monarchy. Among the many decisions to be made by the Firm is what to do with the Queen’s beloved corgis. Ever since she was a child, the late monarch was accompanied by her dogs, making the corgi breed synonymous with the Royal Family.
At the time of her death, the Queen had four dogs – two corgis, one dorgi and a new cocker spaniel. It hasn’t been decided what will happen to them yet, as far as we can tell, but royal expert Victoria Arbiter told The Independent the Queen will have set out a plan for them.
This could mean the dogs being taken on by her children. Ms Arbiter 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 the ankles of the royal family.
“All of the Queen’s children would welcome them with open arms.”
If the family does not decide to take on the dogs, they could be left to royal staff, Ms Arbiter added.
The Queen’s love for corgis started when she was just seven year olds. At the time, one of her friends had one, and the young princess immediately wanted a corgi of her own. Her father, King George, brought one home for the family – named Dookie.
She eventually got her own on her 18th birthday. Susan Pembroke Welsh corgi entered the royal household in 1944 and even managed to worm her way onto the Queen and Prince Philip’s honeymoon a few years later.
As reported by the BBC, Susan’s death was a heartbreaking moment. Following her death, the Queen wrote: “I had always dreaded losing her, but I am ever so thankful that her suffering was so mercifully short.”
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Susan started a long line of royal corgis. Every single one the Queen ever owned descended from her 18th birthday present. A graphic by the BBC shows that nearly 60 corgis and five dorgis descended from Susan.
The ‘dorgi’ is a breed that the royals are credited with creating, but by accident. The corgi-dachshund cross came after Princess Margaret’s dachshund Pipkin bred with one of the corgis.
The last one to be personally owned by the Queen – Willow – died in 2018 just before the Queen’s 92nd birthday.
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A source close to Buckingham Palace told the Daily Mail at the time: “She has mourned every one of her corgis over the years, but she has been more upset about Willow’s death than any of them.
“It is probably because Willow was the last link to her parents and a pastime that goes back to her own childhood. It really does feel like the end of an era.”
Royal author Ingrid Seward also told Newsweek that the remaining dogs could go to family members.
She told Newsweek: “I imagine the dogs would be looked after by the family, probably Andrew [as] he’s the one that gave them to her; they’re quite young, the corgi and the dorgi.
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