The Queen’s Dogs are getting over the trauma of seeing their owner die. Muick and Sandy now live at the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle with Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. And it was she, a month after the death of Elizabeth II, who made known the conditions of the sovereign’s two favorite corgis. “They fell into depression but are now integrating and playing with our five Norfolk Terriers.” “It is a great honor to look after them,” said the Duchess of York, 61, speaking at the Henley Literary Festival.
The dogs were given to the Queen by Andrew and his daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenia after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. Elizabeth never parted from that. Muick and Sandy were in the Balmoral Castle room when the sovereign passed away last September 8. And since then they have changed their behavior, becoming “sad”. So much so that the Royal House turned to an animal psychologist to understand what was happening. Now, in the Royal Lodge’s new accommodation, the two puppies appear to be on the mend.
The late monarch had over thirty corgis in her lifetime, but in recent years she has resisted accepting new ones, not wanting to leave after her death.
Animal behavior expert Dr. Roger Mugford, who has helped the queen manage the corgi herd over time, said the animals were “psychologically important” to the queen’s happiness. During the seventy years of her reign, a constant in the queen’s life was her unwavering love for her corgis, so much so that they became a symbol of British royalty around the world.
The passion for this particular sandy-coated dog breed dates back to childhood, when her father, King George VI, purchased a Welsh corgi for the very young Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret. Dookie was baptized. A few years later Crackers and Carol arrived. For her 18th birthday, Elizabeth welcomed a female corgi, Susan: they soon became inseparable. In 1947, he even took her on a honeymoon with Prince Philip. However, he was not very fond of corgis and advised his wife several times to “reduce their number because they bark a lot”. But he was not heard, apparently. At times, the sovereign even had nine corgis at the same time. The dogs lived at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace and had access to the royal apartments.
Elizabeth also took faithful pets with her on state visits to other countries. The valets took care of your every need. Royal biographer Brian Hoey explained in the book “Pets by Royal Appointment” that the dogs ate at 5pm sharp every day. They were fed a lavish diet of steak and chicken breast prepared by a chef. Meals, carefully prepared, were then delivered by a waiter and topped with sauce that was served by the monarch herself. “The queen’s corgi never ate canned food and was even given homeopathic remedies when she was sick,” said Hoey. “And when they died they were buried on the royal estate. The burial was carried out by Her Majesty’s head gardener while she supervised the sad moment.”
Each of the beloved puppies had a plaque engraved with birth and death dates along with an epitaph. “For nearly 15 years, the queen’s faithful companion,” is reported in a being, reveals Hoey.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
