A Timeline of Queen Elizabeth's Lifelong Love of Corgis
It's no secret that Queen Elizabeth II had a penchant for corgis—the monarch, who died Sept. 8, 2022, at age 96, owned at least 30 corgis over the course of her reign. Over the decades, we've seen photos of the queen with her beloved dogs from her childhood years through adulthood, when she even began breeding her favorite breed herself.
Queen Elizabeth is no exception when it comes to giving her pets special attention—her corgis and dorgis (a dachshund and corgi mix) get the royal palace treatment, with their own special areas of the palace, and, of course, their own Christmas stockings when the holiday season rolls around. Just like the rest of us non-royal humans and our dogs, the monarch's pups have been some of her most loyal companions, no matter what the tabloids might throw their way.
Below, see photos of the queen and her canine companions through the years.
When Queen Elizabeth was just 7 years old (known as Princess Elizabeth then), she brought Dookie, a Pembroke Welsh corgi, home to the palace.
Following Dookie, the royal family welcomed Jane, another Welsh corgi. Jane was a part of the family until 1944. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are pictured here with Dookie and Jane at the Royal Welsh House in 1936.
Young Princess Elizabeth was smitten with her corgis—she's pictured here with Dookie and Jane in July 1936.
Here, Princess Elizabeth is seen with her mother Queen Elizabeth, sister Princess Margaret, and father King George VI, and their family pups, Ching, Carol, and Cracker in 1940.
On the monarch's 18th birthday, she was given a ginger-colored corgi puppy named Susan, who would begin a long dynasty of royal pups. All of Queen Elizabeth's dorgis and corgis since can be traced back to Susan—at least 10 generations. She's pictured here with Susan in 1944 at Windsor Castle.
Susan reportedly went everywhere with Queen Elizabeth—even on her honeymoon with Prince Phillip! The royal couple is pictured here in 1959, but it is not known if the corgi shown above is Susan.
Here, Queen Elizabeth is seen leaving the royal train at Liverpool Street Station in 1968 with a pack of her corgis.
Queen Elizabeth would take many of her dogs with her as she traveled, seen here with one of her corgis in the garden at Balmoral Castle in 1952.
Queen Elizabeth pets a corgi during a photo session with the Royal Family in the Frogmore Gardens at Windsor Castle in 1968.
The doggos received the royal treatment—they had their own room at Buckingham Palace and enjoyed meals of beef and rabbit, prepared by their own chef, according to the book Pets by Royal Appointment. The queen is pictured here with one of her dogs in 1970.
While the queen has kept a variety of corgis at any given time, it's believed that she had as many as nine at one point. She's pictured here at Sandringham with some of her beloved brood in the 1980s.
Any avid Royal Family fanatic probably knows at least a few of her pup's names, which can be quite entertaining. Some of the names include Ranger, Sugar, Smoky, and Holly. The queen also bred many dachshund-corgi mixes, also known as dorgis. Some of her dorgi's names included Pickles, Piper, Brandy, and Cider.
Queen Elizabeth reportedly decided to stop breeding corgis after the death of her mother in 2002. She is pictured here with the Queen Mother in 1983. The Queen Mother also adored the short-legged dogs—and Queen Elizabeth even gifted her mother a puppy from Susan's line.
Queen Elizabeth is shown here leaving Buckingham Palace for Windsor Castle in March 2020 to begin social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting on her lap is Candy, one of her dorgis, and her last remaining dog after Vulcan, another dorgi, passed away in December 2020.
After her last remaining corgi from Susan's line passed away in 2018, Queen Elizabeth said she was done owning corgis for fear of leaving any behind after her death. But after a tough 2020 and early 2021, the queen welcomed two new corgi puppies in March 2021. In a full circle moment, she's pictured here with Dookie and Jane, her first two corgis, in 1936.