Wherever the Queen goes, they follow. Her Majesty is never more than a few steps away from her corgis and on Wednesday during an audience with Baroness Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the monarch was joined by one of her beloved pet pooches. The Queen was receiving her guest in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle and surprised royal watchers by being pictured with her corgi at her side. HELLO! understands that the furry friend in question is Whisper, who the Queen adopted from her former gamekeeper, Bill Fenwick, after he passed away in January 2017.
Her Majesty's corgis have been keeping her in good canine company for years. The royal received her first corgi, Susan, when she was 18, and even took the little pooch on her honeymoon with Prince Philip. She also grew up surrounded by corgis as a young girl.
The Queen was joined by one of her corgis in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle
Her pets, who have mainly been descendants of Susan, have, on occasion, played starring roles in the Queen's public life. Holly and Willow, two corgis, and Vulcan and Candy, two corgi-dachshund crosses, famously made an appearance in the 2012 James Bond London Olympics sketch. They also joined the Queen in her official 90th birthday portrait, shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. Sadly, six months after the photos were released, Holly passed away.
MORE: James Martin bonded with the Queen over corgis
Although a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace called the dog's passing "a private matter," a source told the Daily Mail that the monarch was "deeply upset" at the time. "The Queen was deeply upset but she doesn't like seeing her dogs suffer," the source said. "Holly had reached a very good age. She gets more unsettled if they are distressed and she knows that putting a dog down is often the kindest solution. She was devoted to Holly and wherever the Queen was, the dog was never far behind."
Wherever the Queen goes, her corgis follow!
Not surprisingly, the Queen's pets live like royalty. They travel with the monarch from one official residence to another, and have their own spacious room. The corgis sleep in raised wicker beds and are even said to have their sheets changed daily – a tradition started by the Queen Mother.
MORE: The Queen hosts dinner party for Delia Smith
Of their food, royal chef Darren McGrady has previously told HELLO!: "We actually had a royal menu for the dogs. It would list each day what the dogs were to have. One day it would be beef, the next day chicken, the next day lamb, the next day rabbit and it alternated through those days. The beef would come in, we would cook it, dice it into really fine pieces and then we did same with the chicken. We'd poach them, and again chop them really, really small to make sure there were no bones so the dogs wouldn't choke."