Queen Elizabeth II was such an avid dog-lover and dog-breeder that “Corgis” trended for hours on Twitter following the monarch’s passing. QEII had so many dogs throughout her life, many of them corgis, although she did breed corgi-dachshund mixes (dorgis) too. At one point, the Queen was a dog-mom to something like eight or nine corgis. As she got older, she didn’t want to leave a lot of dogs behind when she passed, and she made a conscious choice to not have a house full of corgis in her last years. When Prince Philip was in extremely poor health, Prince Andrew did try to cheer her up by giving her two corgi puppies, one of which died under mysterious circumstances a few months later. So at the time of her passing, the Queen only had four dogs. What will become of them?

What will come of the Queen’s beloved dogs after her passing Thursday at the age of 96? Britain’s longest-serving monarch leaves behind four royal canines – two corgis, Candy and Muick, a corgi-dachshund cross – or ‘dorgi’ – named Sandy, and her most recent addition, Lissy, a cocker spaniel she named after herself.

The future of a royal dog dynasty remains unclear – but a royal biographer says she thinks they may end up with the monarch’s ‘favorite son,’ Prince Andrew – or will be given to members of the royal family’s longtime staff, who have looked after the animals for decades.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told Newsweek that the Queen’s love for her dogs has been unmatched over the years and it’s likely they’ll find a home among the royal family.

‘She loves animals and she absolutely adores dogs. She always has, they were her first love and they will be her last,’ said Seward. ‘I imagine the dogs would be looked after by the family, probably Andrew [as] he’s the one that gave them to her. They’re quite young, the corgi and the dorgi.’

The author of the book All The Queen’s Corgis, Penny Junor, also suggested that the dogs may be cared for by the Queen’s staff.

‘Care of the dogs has fallen sometimes to footmen but mostly to the Queen’s trusted dressmaker, assistant and right-hand woman, Angela Kelly; and to her equally trusted page of many years standing, Paul Whybrew, who was seen walking with the Queen and the dogs in the James Bond spoof,’ she wrote in her 2018 book. ‘Both are fond of the dogs, have unfettered access to the Queen and are said to be very close to her.’

[From The Daily Mail]

At first I was like “oh no, they might split up the dogs?” But I can see why that might be okay, especially if they’re splitting them up in pairs? Like, Prince Andrew could get two, maybe Angela Kelly gets two. Or some other staffer. I didn’t know that QEII adopted a cocker spaniel recently too – that’s news to me. Anyway, I’m sure that the dogs will find loving homes. Just not with King Charles III, who prefers Jack Russell terriers.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.