Queen Elizabeth II has always had corgis and other animals. She continues to be an avid animal lover.
After losing Prince Philip on April 9, 2021, the Queen of the UK now faces another heartbreak. She is known to be fond of her pets immensely and unfortunately, the pet that was supposed to help her through her grief died prematurely.
The Queen has always had small dogs like Corgis in her home, and she adopted a dorgi—a cross between a corgi and a dachshund— and a corgi in February. She brought the pups home soon after her husband was taken to the hospital. One of the dogs was named Fergus after her WWI veteran uncle and the other was named Muick, pronounced Mick, after one of her favorite places, Loch Muick at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, according to Vanity Fair.
Previously, she had to say goodbye to her corgi Vulcan, who died in October of last year. It was believed that she won't bring home any more corgis after that. Insiders said that she believed the dogs could be a trip hazard, according to The Sun.
However, her son Prince Andrew gave her the two puppies when Prince Philip was ill. And now, over the weekend of 15 & 16 May, she lost Fergus. The 5-month-old died suddenly.
In 2015, Monty Roberts, an informal adviser to the Queen, told Vanity Fair, "She didn't want any more young dogs. She didn't want to leave any young dog behind. She wanted to put an end to it." However, she was delighted to receive the puppies recently.
A Windsor Castle source said, "The Queen is absolutely devastated. The puppies were brought in to cheer her up during a very difficult period. Everyone concerned is upset as this comes so soon after she lost her husband. On top of that, there’s been the problems with her grandson, Harry."
She used to walk the two dogs on the grounds of Windsor Castle. She is now left with her older dorgi Candy, and Muick. Candy is the last living descendant of corgi Susan who was given to the Queen on her 18th birthday.
The Queen is now expected to move to Balmoral Castle, her Scotland residence, to grieve for her husband. She'll also have to come to terms with the interviews Prince Harry has been giving about his life in the royal family.
After his appearance on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert, his family has been upset again. "The queen is unimpressed with Harry’s latest interview and found it hurtful. It hasn’t done their relationship any favors," a source told Us Weekly. Prince Charles and Prince William are "livid too" and wish Harry would "discuss" his "opinions" in private.
They are reportedly angry with him for saying that growing up in the royal family is like "a mix between The Truman Show and living in a zoo. The biggest issue for me was that being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit every element of it without a choice. And because of the way the UK media are, they feel an ownership over you."
The queen “still has a soft spot for Harry,” another source added. "It definitely hasn’t helped with healing the rift," the first source added. They also said that the royal family doesn’t want to "engage" with Harry’s public comments. "They feel it was thoughtless and irresponsible of Harry to once again shade The Firm so soon after Prince Philip’s death, while the queen is still mourning the death of her husband," they added.
Harry revealed that he realized in his early 20s that he doesn't want "this job." He started thinking, "I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this." He was more concerned because of what happened to his mom, Princess Diana. "Look what it did to my mum. How am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family, when I know it’s going to happen again?" he said during the podcast.
References:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14997282/queen-suffers-fresh-heartache-death-dorgi-puppies/
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2015/07/queen-elizabeth-corgis-a-history
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by WPA Pool
