The Queen’s Corgis

All eyes are on Great Britain this week, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled longer than many of us have been alive. As you may know, the monarch was extremely fond of corgis: specifically, the Pembroke Welsh Corgis. A local vet discusses these pampered pups below.

Pampered Pups

As you can probably guess, being the Queen’s pet is a pretty sweet gig. The royal pups were pampered as only royal dogs could be. The 30-some corgis that the monarch owned over the course of her life slept in cushioned wicker baskets, and ate things like steak, rabbit, and chicken from silver platters. The adorable pups were always fed in order of seniority, and each got their own Christmas stockings.

Plucky Pups

It’s not hard to fall for corgis. These cute little pooches are extremely intelligent, and are actually skilled at herding livestock. Given that said livestock would be quite a bit larger than the corgis, that’s pretty impressive!

Beloved Pooches

It’s not difficult to see why so many Brits fell in love with these cute pups. However, not everyone was quite as enamored with them. Princess Di once referred to them as a ‘moving carpet’!

A Furry Legacy

The Queen stopped breeding corgis in 2015, because she didn’t want to leave any dogs behind. However, she did make an exception in 2021, when Prince Andrew and his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, gave her a puppy to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of her husband, Prince Philip.

History

Queen Elizabeth first fell in love with corgis at a young age, when she was charmed by the pups owned by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. On her 18th birthday, her father gave her a corgi of her own, who was named Susan. Susan accompanied her on her honeymoon. Many of the Queen’s later puppies were Susan’s descendants. 

Movie

Did you know that there’s a movie about the corgis? In the film, aptly titled The Queen’s Corgis, the Queen’s favorite pup gets lost and ends up in a dog fighting club. The plucky pooch must find his way back home.

Scandals

True to royal form, the corgis have had a few brushes with scandal. A footman was demoted for pouring booze into the pups’ bowls, and watching them stagger about “with great relish.” We can definitely agree with the Queen’s annoyance on this one. Alcohol is actually very dangerous to dogs!

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