For Queen Elizabeth II, corgis were her family - her most loyal companion. The shot-legged dog and Queen's journey started when she was a little seven-year-old girl, and her beloved corgis stayed with her till her last breath. Throughout her life, she has owned more than 30 corgis, and what's more interesting is that there is a royal corgis family that has been the Queen's companion for 14 generations - starting with the Queen's first pet Susan to the last corgis of the family, Willow, who passed away in 2018.
Every corgi, she has owned had lived a royal life - sleeping in a puffy bed to eating a meal prepared by the head chef. Interestingly, the Queen had never bounded her dogs by royal protocols; they were free. With the Queen's passing away, everyone was concerned about what would happen to her beloved two corgis and a dorgi. Now, as per reports, her son Prince Andrew will take care of his late mother's dogs.
Corgis have been with Elizabeth since her childhood. When she was a seven-year-old, the little princess' got attached to a corgi, that a friend of her's owned. After which, she demanded to have one, which her father King George VI fulfilled. They brought a little leg fluffy dog home and named him Dookie. A few years later, the same breeder gave the royal family another Pembroke Welsh corgi, Jane.
Dookie passed away when World War II started and Jane gave birth to a puppy. However, Jane died when a car accidentally ran over her. The incident left little Lilibet heartbroken.
Making Elizabeth's 18th birthday memorable, her parent gifted her one corgi, whom she named Susan. The dog never left Elizabeth's side and followed her everywhere. Elizabeth also was so fond of her that she even took Susan on her honeymoon.
Susan later gave birth to two dogs Sugar and Honey and it will be shocking to know that all the 30 dogs she has owned in her lifetime were Susan's descendants.
After the 14th generation, the last pups of Susan's family tree were Holly and Willow. Reports suggest the Queen stopped breeding because she ''didn't want to leave any young dog behind"
The last dog of Susan's family, Willow, died in 2018.
Only corgis were allowed to cross Queen's way, they always walked ahead, jumped and did what they wanted to do. Even Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip has always stayed a step behind her.
Nobody was allowed to raise a voice against the dogs and point a finger at them. Once Princess Diana said the Corgis were like "a moving carpet'' always following Queen - no matter what the place was, whether it was her private jet or the garden. They even sometimes followed Queen during the public gathering hosted at Buckingham Palace.
During the Queen's lifetime, she herself took care of every little detail of her corgis. In Buckingham Palace, there is a room assigned to the corgis, a regal room with a well-polished floor, golden doors, and comfortable beds with cushions. A silver dog bowl is there for the dogs with their names engraved on it.
A well-prescribed and nutritious diet was prepared by a gourmet chef every day with fresh materials. They had a menu at the palace that included beef, fresh rabbit, chicken breast, steak, and every day everything was prepared from scratch for the Queen's beloved corgis.