The Queen once declared “my Corgis are family”, so it’s no surprise that Her Majesty’s summer trips to Deeside were always accompanied by her canine companions.
A mainstay throughout the Queen’s remarkable 70-year reign, the pampered pooches were part of the Crown before The Queen was ever on the throne.
It was her father King George VI that first instilled a love of dogs in the Queen, who was the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
Queen’s first family Corgi
In 1933 he brought home the first family pet, a Welsh Pembroke Corgi with a deep chestnut-red coat, that they named ‘Dookie’ – a nickname for Duke.
On her 18th birthday in 1944, the Queen was gifted a Corgi of her very own called Susan which even joined the princess on her honeymoon to Scotland in 1947 after marrying Prince Philip.
The dozens of Corgis she owned throughout her reign are believed to have descended from Susan.
Breeding was so important, that in 1949, when Susan went into heat during a holiday at Balmoral, she was flown back down south on a Royal Mail plane to meet a stud dog.
The match produced two puppies, Sugar and Honey, marking the start of the Queen’s dynasty of dogs.
Throughout her reign, the Queen was personally involved in the care and top-secret breeding of her beloved Corgis and Dorgis – the latter being a Corgi Daschund crossbreed.
Buckingham Palace was never without a Corgi or Dorgi, and it is thought she had owned more than 30 of the faithful dogs.
Dogs stole the limelight when travelling t0 Aberdeen
The breeds were so synonymous with the Royal Family that two of her pets Holly and Willow – 14th generation descendants from Susan – even had starring roles in the London 2012 Olympic Games opening sketch.
But it’s not the first time the Queen’s dogs tried to steal the limelight.
The dogs always travelled in style and have been a familiar – and often amusing – sight for staff at Aberdeen’s railway station and airport any time the royals arrived for their summer stay at Balmoral trailed by packs of pooches.
And despite being commanded by Her Majesty the Queen, the corgis were known for their sometimes cheeky and disobedient behaviour.
In 1952, the journey to Balmoral was delayed when the dogs gave their owners the slip on the royal train at Aberdeen Station.
And they were up to their old tricks again pulling a disappearing act on the Queen Mother at Wick Airport in 1957.
It was reported that Honey was reluctantly retrieved from the crowd of amused onlookers while royal aides frantically searched the runway for the runaway.
Corgis’ playful personality is said to be one of the many reasons the Queen surrounded herself with the dogs.
Queen was as devoted to Corgis as they were to her
Leading a life ruled by the Crown and its associated protocol could be lonely, and the constant companionship and affection from her pets was very important to the Queen.
The late Prince Philip once described the Corgis as a “kind of therapy” for his wife.
Although waited on hand and foot herself, such was her devotion to the dogs that she would often oversee their mealtimes and welfare herself.
The Queen would take them out for their daily walks while in Scotland and ensured they always enjoyed a life of luxury.
A careful breeding programme at Windsor also ensured the Queen always had a number of pure-bred Corgis at the palace.
Her pedigree puppies were never allowed to be sold or compete at dog shows, although the Queen is said to have gifted many to family and friends.
And in the 1960s, Foxy, Tiny, Pickles, Tinker, Mask, Rufus, Cindy and Brush were welcomed into the royal household and the canines were no strangers to Balmoral.
Like monarchs before her, Balmoral was a retreat for the Queen where she could enjoy country pursuits and relaxing away from the glare of the public eye.
Deeside locals would often see Her Majesty behind the wheel of a Landy, on horseback or striding through the glens – and her beloved dogs would never be far behind.
Corgis received first-class travel to Balmoral
In 1981, the Queen turned heads at Aberdeen Airport when she jetted into the city with no fewer than 12 Corgis in tow destined for a summer break at Balmoral.
Eight hounds trotted off the royal plane before the Queen emerged leading a ninth, but the camera-shy canine needed a gentle nudge on the backside from Her Majesty to descend the steps.
On the return flight at Aberdeen, the Corgis hit the headlines again as the Queen found herself in the role of lady-in-waiting to the impatient pups.
The Queen and Princess Margaret had to stand aside at the airport and wait in the wind and rain as the royal pets were carried on board the flight taking them back to London.
In more recent years, the Queen reduced the number of her Corgis to a more manageable number, welcoming two new dogs to the family in the weeks around Prince Philip’s death in 2021.
It was said the Queen let the original bloodline from Susan die out in 2018 with the passing of Willow, as she did not want her Corgis to outlive her.
But the two new additions were gifts from Prince Andrew.
Taking inspiration from Aberdeenshire, one of the new additions was named Muick after Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate, one of the Queen’s favourite destinations.
Fergus, the second, passed away aged just five months old, before Sandy came along.
Devoted dogs’ final duty to late Queen
When the Queen sadly died last September, among the most poignant photographs from her funeral featured her beloved Corgis and her fell pony, Emma.
In their final duty to their owner, devoted dogs Muick and Sandy, waited patiently with footmen in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle as the funeral cortege arrived.
It was an image that tugged at the heartstrings of a nation, and people were concerned about what would happened to her canine companions.
The Queen was survived by four dogs: Muick, Sandy, dorgi Candy, and a Cocker Spaniel called Lissy.
The latter went to live with her trainer, while Candy, Sandy and Muick went to live with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in the Royal Lodge and Windsor Park.
The Corgis feature on Sarah Ferguson’s social media pages now and again, and still seem to be enjoying their pampered pooch lifestyles.
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