Queen Elizabeth II was well known as an animal lover, in addition to being a devoted dog owner herself.
Throughout her life, the queen, who died September 8, 2022 at 96, had dozens of dogs. She was most photographed with corgis.
Elizabeth's father, the late King George VI, welcomed the first corgi into the family in 1933, who was named Dookie. It wasn’t long before he added another dog into the family, a corgi named Jane. In 1938, Jane then gave birth to two puppies, named Crackers and Carol.
For Elizabeth’s 18th birthday, she was given her own corgi named Susan. In the decades since, all of the corgis bred by Elizabeth were descended from her beloved Susan.
In addition to her purebred corgis, the queen bred several dorgis, a mix of dachshunds and corgis.
Vanity Fair reported in May 2016 that the line of dorgis bred by the former monarch started when one of her corgis mated with her late sister Princess Margaret’s dachshund.
Over the decades, the queen’s beloved dogs have made their fair share of appearances, both in public and in the media.
In April 2016, three new portraits were debuted to honor the queen on her 90th birthday, including a photo posing with her youngest grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as a shot of her alongside her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal.
The photos, taken by Annie Leibovitz, also included one adorable snap of the queen posing with four of her dogs, Willow, Holly, Vulcan, and Candy.
The quartet of dogs also graced the cover of Vanity Fair in May 2016 alongside the queen shortly after the portraits were initially released.
One of the queen’s dogs Monty, who died in September 2012, also appeared in a sketch alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond for the 2012 London Olympics. Following the death of Monty, the queen still had Willow and Holly, who also appeared in the 007 themed sketch.
In December 2020, the queen lost another of her dogs, this time a dorgi named Vulcan. At the time, she was left with one dog, a dorgi named Candy.
Though the last of her purebred corgis, Whisper, died in 2018, in March 2021 the queen welcomed two new corgi puppies into the royal family, the first of her dogs that didn’t descend from Susan.
In recent months, the queen celebrated part of her Platinum Jubilee with her dog, Candy.
The royal family shared photos in February 2022 of the longest-reigning British monarch looking at cards, letters, and artwork sent in my children and the public to mark the historic occasion.
She was accompanied by Candy, who made a special appearance in the Oak Room and Windsor Castle. In one of the photos, the queen bent down to give her beloved dog a pet on the head.
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