The British are very fond of animals - there are four-legged pets in many families. The English royal house is no exception. All members of the royal family are partial to horses and dogs, and each has its own preferences in breeds. The favorite dogs of Queen Elizabeth II were funny, cute and wayward corgi.
Corgi: breed features
The Pembroke Welsh Corgi is an ancient breed of hunting dogs, bred in Wales. Animals are small in size (30 cm in length and 10 kg in weight), a funny elongated muzzle with large erect ears and short legs. The color of the corgi coat ranges from sandy to dark brown, arbitrary black and white spots are acceptable. The character of the dogs is peculiar - they are wayward, playful, cheerful and prone to pugnaciousness. But at the same time, corgi lend themselves well to training and get along with other pets without problems.
Corgi at the English court: the history of the appearance
Seven-year-old Elizabeth saw the first dog of this breed at a visit - and the small red animals immediately won her heart. In 1944, the princess got her own dog - a red corgi named Susan. She became not only a constant companion of Elizabeth, but also the ancestor of the royal pack of corgi. Today, the ninth generation of the descendants of the Queen's beloved dog lives in the palace.
Today the queen has 11 dogs. By tradition, they are given gentle, poetic names - Sugar, Blu, Pchelka, Medok, Smoke. Not all royal dogs have a cute disposition. In the palace, they still remember the corgi with the tender name Veresk, which, due to frequent fights, went limp and lost half of its ear, but did not lose its fighting character.
In addition to the corgi, other hunting dogs - spaniels and labradors - are bred in the royal residence of Sandrindham.
Everyday life of royal dogs
The royal pack lives on a strict schedule. At Buckingham Palace, at exactly 5 o'clock, the animals are served a ceremonial meal. Footmen finely chop the meat, and serve special sauce and sifted cookie flour on silver trays. Elizabeth mixes the ingredients with her own hands and puts them in silver bowls, after which she serves food to the dogs on plastic napkins.
In her country residence Sandringham, the queen spends almost all her free time with the dogs. Dressed in a raincoat and rubber boots, she walks the pack herself, and then combes out the dogs.
When the queen leaves on business, the dogs are looked after by the royal cynologist - this official position has existed for several decades. By the way, not only the queen holds the corgi. These dogs were also loved by her mother, Queen Dowager Elizabeth, as well as her daughter Anna. The heir to the throne, Charles, prefers Labradors, but also treats his mother's favorites with sympathy. However, not everyone has warm feelings for the queen's dogs. Footmen and other employees of the palace often complain that impudent and wayward dogs bite them on the ankles or knock them down as they rush through the palace corridors.
The royal dogs never accompanied Elizabeth on her trips abroad - the strict quarantine rules in force in the UK apply to them too.
After death, royal dogs receive another privilege - they are buried in the palace park. Small mounds with commemorative stones are scattered along the alleys. And the ancestor of the royal pack, Susan, who died at the venerable fifteen years of age, was honored with a touching inscription carved on the gravestone: "Susan, faithful friend of the Queen."
