If you’d ever had the chance to ask the Queen just who her favourite child was, the answer may have come back as a bit of a shock. After all, it was likely not any of her four children, but one of her corgis.
“My corgis are family,” the Queen once said.
Indeed they were treated as such, joining the monarch in official images and portraits, and stealing the show with a starring role in the Queen’s skit alongside James Bond for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
A lifelong love affair with the adorable pooches began in 1933 when Elizabeth’s father brought home a puppy named Dookie.
That affection was cemented on her 18th birthday after her parents gifted Elizabeth a sweet dog named Susan – who was so beloved that the royal even smuggled the pooch on her honeymoon by hiding her underneath a blanket in the carriage!
Over six decades, Her Majesty bred 14 generations of puppies descended from her “faithful companion”.
She kept more than 30 for herself and gave others away to close friends and family. The Queen decided to discontinue breeding them in her later years over fear of some outliving her. The last of the line, Willow, passed away in 2018.
“She loves animals and she absolutely adores dogs,” says royal expert Ingrid Seward.
“They were her first love and they will be her last.”
The adored pets, who had two full-time footmen assigned to look after them and had their meals prepared by professional chefs, caused havoc around the palaces, with staff constantly tripping over them and the occasional policeman being bitten.
In the 2024 book A Voyage Around the Queen, journalist Craig Brown revealed that the Queen’s dogs were known for their unpredictable temperament, often acting “one-minute cuddly, the next psycho.”
Her first dog Dookie, was especially notorious for his bad behaviour.
“Dookie did not restrict his aggression to humans: he would happily attack the dining room chairs at Royal Lodge, the family home in Windsor Great Park.”
Thankfully, Craig says the Queen did eventually figure out how to keep her darling dogs from behaving badly.
“Coincidentally, the way to scare off a belligerent corgi is the same as for a belligerent human being: a blast from the bagpipes,” he penned.
“Happily, the Queen always kept a set of bagpipes at hand.”
At the time of her death, the Queen had four dogs, Candy, a 13-year-old corgi-dachshund mix, a cocker spaniel named Lissy, and two young corgis – Muick and Sandy. Muick was a present from Prince Andrew and his daughters when Prince Philip was in hospital, shortly before his death.
After her passing, the question on everyone’s lips was what would be happening to the remaining dogs?
Sandy and Muick remained much-loved members of the family, going back into the care of the Duke of York and his former wife Sarah Ferguson.
“The corgis will return to live at Royal Lodge with the Duke and Duchess,” said a royal source at the time of the Queen’s passing.
“It was the Duchess who found the puppies, which were gifted to Her Majesty.”
WATCH NOW: Queen Elizabeth loves her corgis. Article continues after video.
Before their rehoming, Prince William met with mourners waiting in line to pay their respects at Westminster to his grandmother, where he made a rare comment about his furry family members.
“They’ll be looked after very well. Spoiled rotten, I’m sure,” TODAY reported at the time.
“They’re two very friendly corgis and they’ve got a good home.”
In a sweet update shared to her Instagram page in December 2023, the Duchess of York revealed that Muick and Sandy were happy, healthy, and “always begging from treats.”
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