Queen Elizabeth II’s VIP treatment behind closed doors for her beloved corgis

Queen Elizabeth II was inseparable from her beloved corgis, and her cherished pet pooches even travelled by helicopter if required to accompany Her Majesty wherever she went. It was no secret that she spoiled the pets, treating them to chef-prepared meals and having their sheets inside their baskets changed daily, but Prince Harry has revealed another way they lived the high life…

In his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex revealed that the dogs would happily join the Queen in her private lift up to her bedroom on a nightly basis. He wrote: “In the heart of this main chamber was the grand staircase. Sweeping, dramatic, seldom used. Whenever Granny headed up to her bedroom on the second floor, corgis at her heels, she preferred the lift. The corgis preferred it too.”

The Queen owned more than 30 corgis in her lifetime and at any given point, she had up to ten! Princess Diana is said to have said the gathering of dogs around her feet was like “a moving carpet”. 

Where are the Queen’s corgis now?

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After the Queen died in 2022, her pets were bestowed to her son, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. They were given to them for a very specific reason, because it was their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who originally purchased the dogs. The princesses reportedly gifted their grandmother with Muick and Sandy to distract her from the stress of her husband, Prince Philip’s, hospital stay in 2021. 

After taking on the dogs, Sarah revealed that she felt they had psychic powers. “I have her dogs. I have her corgis. So every morning they come in and go, you know ‘woof woof’ and all that. I’m sure it’s her talking to me.”

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When Andrew was evicted from Royal Lodge and relocated to the Sandringham Estate it was unclear if he had retained custody of the pets. Buckingham Palace simply asserted that they would “remain with the family” and they have since been spotted on the Sandringham Estate so it would suggest that Andrew does still look after them. 

Andrew now lives alone at a former working farmhouse, Marsh Farm. Before Andrew moved in, the home was fitted with security cameras and a new wooden fence for added security and privacy. While these features were added, Andrew stayed at the neighbouring Wood Farm, the retirement property of his late father, Prince Philip.