Queen Elizabeth II and her beloved Corgi dogs

Queen Elizabeth II, who marked 70 years on the throne and the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history died on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, along with her beloved furry companions. It’s widely known that Queen Elizabeth loved corgis. Over the years, she owned more than 30 corgis. At the time of death, she owned two Corgis, Muick and Sandy, one Dorgi, named Candy, and a Cocker Spaniel. A Dorgi is a mix between a Corgi and a daschund.

The Cocker Spaniel puppy was given by her son Prince Andrew, on what would have been the Queen's husband's Philip’s 100th birthday.

As per some media reports, Britain's longest-serving monarch's royal canines will be rehomed after their "lord and master's" death. While it is not totally known to the public where the dogs will be rehomed, royal correspondent Victoria Arbiter told The Independent newspaper that no stone is left unturned with the Queen - and that there is no doubt a plan for their lives after Her Majesty’s death.

“We can only speculate on plans for the corgis - nothing is left to chance with the royal family,” she said.

“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.”

If forced to guess, Arbiter said the dogs would likely go to a member of the fold. “All of the Queen’s children would welcome them with open arms,” she said.

If not a family member, Arbiter said, it would likely be a trusted staff member. “She was surrounded by dog lovers,” Arbiter added.

Royal biographer Penny Junor told The Sun newspaper the dogs are "intensely loving and they have never let her down".

Queen Elizabeth was photographed hugging one of the dogs as far back as 1936 at age 10, and was given a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. The breed was introduced to the royal family by her father, King George VI, in 1933, when he bought a male corgi called Dookie from a local kennel.

As queen, she also technically owned the thousands of mute swans in open British waters, and had the right to claim all sturgeons, porpoises, whales and dolphins, according to a statute from 1324. 

It’s widely known that Elizabeth loved corgis — Princess Diana reportedly called the dogs the queen’s “moving carpet” because they accompanied her everywhere. 

Queen Elizabeth and Corgis Relationship: 

The queen and corgis went together in the British imagination like tea and cake, giving a worldwide exposure to the obscure breed.

The little, mainly sandy-coloured dogs with pointy ears were a busy presence in the queen's court, following her from room to room in Buckingham Palace and featuring in official photos. The queen was so fond of her corgis that she personally supervised their daily meal, according to "Pets by Royal Appointment", by author Brian Hoey, a book on British royal pets since the 16th century. The dogs' dinners of fillet steak and chicken breast were prepared by a footman and served at 5:00 pm sharp every day, with the queen playing servant, pouring the gravy on the feast.

They were even given a starring role in the spoof James Bond clip filmed with the queen for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. The queen stopped raising corgis in her 90s so as not to leave them orphaned after her death, and the 2018 demise of Willow, the last corgi she reared herself, served as a reminder of the monarch's own mortality.

One of her favourites, Pharos, had to be put down after being savaged by Florence, the English bull terrier owned by the queen's daughter Princess Anne in 2003.

As per AFP report, the queen also used her corgis to great effect when British war surgeon David Nott suffered a terrifying flashback during a private lunch at Buckingham Palace. Unable to speak about the horrors he had witnessed during the Syrian conflict, the monarch summoned courtiers to fetch the dogs and suggested he fed them biscuits under the table.

"For 20 minutes during this lunch, the queen and I fed the dogs. She did it because she knew I was so seriously traumatised. You know the humanity of what she was doing was unbelievable," he told BBC radio in 2016. "Stroking the animals, touching dogs, feeding them... She talked about her dogs and how many she had. She was wonderful and I will never forget it."

(With inputs from agencies)