Queen Elizabeth’s beloved surviving corgis will be cared for by the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York.
A spokesperson for Prince Andrew said on Sunday (11.09.22) he and Sarah will take on the pets, named Muick and Sandy – who were gifted to the late monarch by the duke during lockdown to keep her entertained while her husband the Duke of Edinburgh was in hospital and she was staying in Windsor.
Her Majesty, who died September 8 aged 96 at her home in Balmoral, owned more than 30 corgis during her lifetime, each descended from her first, Susan, an 18th birthday present from her father, George VI.
A source also revealed the Duke of York would take the dogs into his 30-bedroom Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
An insider was quoted by The Sun saying: “It's fascinating – Charles is now King, Camilla is Queen Consort, William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales… (Andrew) just gets the dogs.
“At least he's got plenty of time on his hands after stepping back from Royal duties.”
In early 2021, the Queen was given two new puppies, one corgi and the other a dorgi, a corgi-dachsund mixed breed.
The monarch named the dorgi Fergus after an uncle, her mother’s brother, Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who was killed in World War I in 1915.
Muick was named after a favourite spot near Balmoral Castle, where she traditionally spent her summers.
The late monarch was left devastated after the five-month-old Fergus died just weeks after she received him, shortly after Prince Philip also died, in April 2021, aged 99.
He was later replaced with a new corgi puppy from Andrew and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for her official 95th birthday, who the Queen named Sandy.
Andrew appeared in public eye on Saturday (10.09.22) for the first time since his father’s memorial service in March.
He attended a prayer service for the Queen at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral alongside other members of the royal family, and thanked mourners for visiting the Queen’s home in a short speech in which he said: “We’ve been allowed one day, now we start the process of handing (the Queen) on.
“It’s nice to see you, thank you for coming.”
Andrew stepped down from public life over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and after he paid millions of pounds to settle a civil sexual assault case brought against him by one of Epstein’s sex trafficking victims, Virginia Giuffre.
The duke strongly denies all allegations against him and has consistently claimed he has never met Giuffre.
