A Girl And Her Dogs
Tomorrow will mark the occasion of the 92nd birthday of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. But it will be slightly sad for her as earlier this week, there came the end of an era when her beloved Welsh corgi, Willow, died on Sunday at Windsor Castle. Willow was the last in a 70 year line of royal corgis. Since early childhood the Queen has had a corgi or two (or sometimes as many as 13 of these little dogs) as her pets and companions. She is no doubt the most famous corgi lover who ever lived! Country Living magazine has done a wonderful story of this Queen and her dogs. Here is the gist of it: (all photos curtesy of Getty Images)
When she was just 7 years old in 1933, her father, King George VI, brought home the first of many corgis that his daughter would love. They were her close allies and friends during WWII. When she and her sister, Princess Margaret were sent to Windsor Castle during the air raids over Britain while her parents stayed at Buckingham Palace, her beloved corgi, Jane was there to comfort her. Jane was tragically run over by a car in 1944 by an employee of Windsor Great Park. The young Princess, (not yet Queen) ever gracious even back then, wrote a letter to the man who had run over her dear Jane to tell him she knew it was an accident and not his fault.
That same year she received a new corgi puppy, Susan who became her constant companion. When she married Prince Philip in 1947, Susan accompanied them on their honeymoon to Scotland, hidden under a pile of blankets. Shortly after the Queen gave birth to Prince Charles, Susan too gave birth to puppies, Sugar and Honey. They were the start of the most famous corgi dynasty in history. A few years later Sugar was bred and gave birth to Whiskey and Sherry, who were given to young Prince Charles and his sister Princess Anne as gifts.
And there were others to follow including some dorgis, the first of which was called Pickles. Pickles came about when one of the Queen’s corgis, Tiny, cross-bred with Princess Margaret’s dachshund, Pipkin. There were then more more dorgis and corgis that followed. They have traveled with her across the miles and from palace to palace and castle to castle. It has been reported that when they saw her emerge with a scarf on her head they would jump up excitedly knowing they were going on a walk. But when she appeared in a tiara, they would just lie there on the floor knowing they were going no where.
Her family and staff does not share her love of these dogs, however. The former royal chef referred to them as “little happy nasty dogs”, the late Princess Diana Prince called them a “moving carpet”, and Princess Michel of Kentl, married to the Queens first cousin, once said she would shoot them, to which the Queen quickly replied, “They are better behaved than she is.”
So in 2016 when her dog Holly, died from an illness, leaving just Willow as the lone corgi companion to Her Majesty, she made the difficult decision not to continue breeding them as she didn’t want to leave any dog behind when it was her time to go.
HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in history, celebrates her 92nd birthday tomorrow, and for the first time in most of her life it will be without her special canine friends. The doggy dynasty has come to an end. But most surely not the love she has had for her royal pups. That will live on. In the absence of the love and affection from her doggies, we hope you will join us in offering a very big and very heartfelt birthday greeting to this remarkable woman. You can actually do that here. Happy birthday Your Majesty. Long live the Queen!
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