Who Will Take Care Of Queen Elizabeth II's Beloved Pets After Her Death?

Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on 8 September, survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. Britain's longest-reigning monarch also left behind her beloved pets, the corgis that she famously referred to as her “family”.

It's believed the Queen had four dogs at the time of her death: two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, a Dorgi (Corgi-Dachshund mix), and a Cocker Spaniel named Lissy.

"I imagine the dogs will 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," royal biographer Ingrid Seward told Newsweek.

However, author Penny Junor suggested that the dogs might 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," Junor wrote in her 2018 book, All The Queen's Corgis.

Royal author Claudia Joseph was cited by the New York Post as saying:

“The entire family are dog lovers and so any one of them could take a dog or two. Andrew has Cocker Spaniels so he might take back the one he gave her. William and Kate also love dogs so they could have them. Or there is a chance they will continue to be looked after by the palace staff so that they don’t need to be moved.”

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, with their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne, play with the Queen's corgi pet, "Sugar," foreground, and the Duke's "Candy" during the royal family's summer holiday at Balmoral castle in Scotland, on August 15, 1955.

‘Dynasty of Corgis’

The Queen has always had a great love of animals but her association with corgis dates back to 1944 when her parents bought her a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. All subsequent royal corgis descended from Susan, who died aged 14 in 1959 and is buried at Sandringham. The monarch has owned more than 30 corgis and other pets, including different breeds of dogs and horses, throughout her reign of more than 70 years.

The Queen opted for a hands-on approach, personally feeding and caring for the dogs, who even had their own room in Buckingham Palace - “The Corgi room” - where they were reportedly looked after by two footmen.

Queen Elizabeth II returns to London from a weekend in the country with her two pet Corgi dogs on Jan. 18, 1965

In 2015 the monarch reportedly decided to stop breeding corgis so that none would be left behind when she died. However, after her husband Prince Philip was hospitalized in 2021, the Queen was given a corgi puppy by the Duke of York.

Prince Andrew gave his mother another corgi puppy on what would have been Prince Philip's 100th birthday last June, according to The Independent.

The dorgi is said to have been the result of one of the Queen’s dogs breeding with her sister Princess Margaret's dachshund.

HM Queen riding her famous horse "Burmese", given to her by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1969

CC BY-SA 2.0 / Leonard Bentley / Buckingham Palace

Besides her love of dogs, from early childhood the Queen had also loved horses, going on to breed and race them for more than 60 years. In 2013 the Queen became the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot's Gold Cup with her thoroughbred Estimate.

“It is likely that the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, and [Anne’s] daughter, Zara, who were both Olympic equestrians and well-known horse lovers, are likely to be involved in what happens next to the Queen’s animals,” royal author Claudia Joseph added.