According to The Mail on Sunday, two of the late Queen’s corgis were at Her Majesty’s side when she passed away.
According to Palace insiders, Muick and Sandy, her favourite dogs, were “with her in the chamber” when she passed away on September 8.
Muick and Sandy’s moving appearance at Windsor Castle on Monday during the Queen’s last trip touched many people’s hearts.
When they were puppies, Prince Andrew gave Fergus and Muick, both named after Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate and pronouced “Mick,” to the Queen. Three months after Fergus passed away, Princess Beatrice, the granddaughter of the Queen, assisted in the search for Sandy, a new corgi to take Fergus’ place.
Despite the Queen’s love for her corgis, her animals didn’t always show the same unshakable devotion. She needed sutures when a corgi bit her hand in the 1980s.
After that, she hired Dr. Roger Mugford, a behaviourist, to assist her control the pack, which had grown to nine animals by that point. One was so troublesome that the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, sent him to live with her.
The Queen reacted to Dr. Mugford’s recommendation that she have fewer dogs by saying, “Dr. Mugford, Prince Philip has already informed me that I have too many dogs.” I could have avoided paying your money if I desired that kind of counsel.
Despite this, the queen persisted in adding to her corgi and other dog collection, eventually amassing a total of 30 dogs over the course of her 70-year reign.
Susan, a Pembroke Welsh corgi that she initially had, was a 1944 gift for her 18th birthday. Susan passed away in 1959 and was laid to rest at Sandringham’s pet cemetery.
The dorgi was created in 1971 by the Queen when her corgi Tiny and her sister Princess Margaret’s dachshund Pipkin mated.
Dr. Mugford said last week that the animals were “psychologically very vital” for the welfare of the Queen and that he thought they would be content living at Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew’s residence on Windsor Great Park.
The current Kennel Club cocker spaniel gundog champion is Lissy, the other dog owned by the Queen, whose pedigree name is Wolferton Drama.
The Queen did not adopt a dog in recent years because she did not want to leave any behind, even though she bred corgis until 2015. Sandy and Muik were received on the understanding that they would be returned by Prince Andrew or Princess Beatrice.
They remained at her side till the last end, just as her family had intended.