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Corgis: How di Queen fall in love come start one phenomenon

Lizzy Corgi.png The Queen pictured with Susan at Balmoral Castle, in 1952 - the year she became Queen

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 Source: BBC

Since di death of di Queen, questions don come up about wetin go happun to her corgis, di pets she don treasure since childhood. Now dem don reveal say her son Prince Andrew and im ex-wife, di Duchess of York go take care of her beloved dogs. Dis na di story of how Elizabeth and her corgis become inseparable.

1959: Queen Elizabeth II, at age of 32 and a mother of two, sidon dey design gravestone for her dog.

Susan show on her 18th birthday, and gatecrash her honeymoon a few years later, she smuggle under one rug for di royal carriage after her wedding to Prince Philip.

"I bin dey always fear to loss her," di Queen write for her grief, "but I dey ever so thankful say her suffering bin dey so mercifully short."

Dat Susan bite di royal clock-winder and one young palace sentry na matter of record, though her legend writing about am leave out dat kain lack of caution.

Dem bury her for di pet cemetery for Sandringham, wey di famously committed mourner Queen Victoria bin start.

E bin be end for one Pembroke Welsh corgi - but certainly not for Her Majesty, wey only just dey start.

Over di next sixty year, she go own more dan 30 of Susan descendants, single-handedly create mass market for dis stunted Welsh cattle dog, and accidentally invent di corgi wit di help of Princess Margaret amorous dachshund, Pipkin.

Why corgis? Di answer, wey fit resonate wit parents, be say some friends bin get one for 1933 wen Princess Elizabeth bin dey seven years old, and she bin want one too.

Pembroke corgis bin be familiar sight for Wales, but fairly new to England. Di Duke of York, Elizabeth papa, meet one respected breeder wey dem dey Thelma Gray wey bring di family three puppies from her Rozavel kennels for Surrey to choose from.

Dem settle on one small corgi wey dem officially call Rozavel Golden Eagle, becos im na di only one wey get small stump of tail to wag - and dem wan know wen im happy. But dem later sabi di puppy as Dookie, reportedly after di kennel staff hear say di Duke of York go be im owner, and di nickname hang.

Dookie bin get horrible behaviour, biting courtiers and visitors any how - but dat no stop di foto wey media Elizabeth and di tiny tyrant to take from charming di public and raising di Pembroke corgi profile.

Anoda puppy, Lady Jane, land from di same breeder few years later. Christmas 1936 bin witness one royal PR coup in di form of saccharine children's book - Our Princesses and Dia Dogs - wey style di Yorks and dia pets as "one very human family".

Di book full wit dog foto and family values, go on sale just days before di Duke elder brother abdicate, making im di new king.

Buckingham Palace no dey say pim about anytin wey get to do wit di Queen dogs becos dem see an as "private mata". But e clear say di royals cottoned on early to the softening effect of a well-timed corgi.

Kennel Club numbers show clear spike in Pembroke corgi registrations for 1936, and anoda for 1944, di year Princess Elizabeth get Susan. She bin make corgis cool, while dem make her look warm.

"Pipo - breeders - bin dey serve di market dog wey suddenly become very popular. Na di 101 Dalmatians effect," Ciara Farrell, di Kennel Club Library and Collections Manager, tok.

"You go see am wit advertising as well - di old English sheepdog on Dulux advert for di 70s and 80s." Likewise, di Andrex puppy, marketing masterstroke wey run for about fifty years.

Away from di cameras, you no fit separate Princess Elizabeth and Susan. Den add di royal awareness of lineage to dat, and e no be surprise say she turn to Thelma, provider of her childhood puppies, to find mate or "husband" for Susan. Rozavel Lucky Strike na di dog for di job, and im become di founder for a line of Windsor Pembroke corgis, wey continue for 14 generations.

As well as being di Queen much-loved pets, di corgis bin be connection to her father, and a more carefree time. Every puppy after Susan bin be way of keeping part of dat wit her, and a reminder say life and dynasties go on.

While her husband Prince Philip spend im lifetime walking a little behind im wife, di corgis dey run ahead - celebrating di freedom wey even di Queen deny herself.

Tori be say Princess Diana bin coin di phrase "a moving carpet" to describe di jumble of dogs wey dey waka before her. But di Queen call dem "di girls" and "di boys".

In all her years of breeding, she no ever sell any of her puppies. All stay wit her, or she give dem to breeders, relatives or friends.

Di corgis bin go wia di Queen go - from palace to palace. Dis include on helicopters, trains, and limousines. For Christmas for Sandringham dem each get dia own stocking, wey di Queen dey fill herself.

Buckingham Palace get 775 rooms, but di corgis bin sleep inside di Queen private apartment. As royal author Penny Junor write for her book All Di Queen Corgis:

"E get special corgi room wia dem get raised wicker baskets lined wit cushions to keep draughts away."

Walking dem evri day na part of her routine before mobility issues affect her final months. And for bygone years, she like nothing more dan piling di pack into one elderly Vauxhall estate, putting on headscarf, and setting off for a drive.

One typical dog life no feature thousands of acres to roam, or lavish meals - wey dem prepare for di royal kitchens - of steak, chicken breast, vegetables and rice. But Junor believe say in some ways, corgis give di Queen precious point of contact wit everyone else.

She write: "Dogs and horses na her passion and na wit dem, and di pipo wey share dat passion, she dey dey truly relax. Horses na rich man game but dogs no be.

Dem be great leveller, dem dey attract pipo from all walks of life and, over di years, di Queen don get strong and genuine friendships wit many of her fellow dog fans."

Between 1933 and 2018, di Queen always own at least one corgi - but mostly e bin be many more dan dat.

Prince Philip, wey no ever share im wife fondness for di breed, bin complain wey pipo hear: "Bloody dogs! Why you go gatz get so many?"

And den e get di dorgis - initially di result of one illegal contact between Princess Margaret dachshund, Pipkin, and one corgi wey dem call Tiny for di 1970s.

Di Queen and Princess Margaret bin dey so charmed by di outcome sotey dem mate di dogs again, and dem born about 10 dorgi puppies over di years.

Dem get different kain appearance, wit some ears dey point up, corgi-like, and oda dey hang down. But all of dem get long tails and dey smaller dan pedigree corgis.

Wen one royal photographer ask how di mechanics work as par di height difference between corgis and dachshunds, di Queen reply: "E dey very simple. We get one small brick."

In some cases, wen loved ones die di Queen even adopt dia dogs. dis include di Queen Mother three corgis for 2002. According to Vanity Fair, wen di Queen go Clarence House to see her mama body, she taje di Queen Mother corgis home wit her directly.

She adopt anoda - Whisper - wey bin belong to her former head gamekeeper for Windsor, Bill Fenwick, and im wife Nancy.

Di latter bin be dear friend wey help wit di breeding of di Queen corgi for fifty years, and one of di very few pipo wey dem put always make sure she ansa im call no mata what.

Di royal household breeding programme end several years ago, as di Queen bin no dey willing to leave young dogs behind wen she died. Pipo bin see her foto wit her surviving dorgi, wey dem call Candy, back in January.

She also bin get two young corgis wey dem name Muick and Sandy, wey be gifts from her son Prince Andrew and im daughters for 2021.

Dem don confam now say di two go go live wit di prince and im ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, for di Royal Lodge, di mansion for di grounds of Windsor estate.

E no clear at time of writing weda Candy join em.

Di prince bin no always profit from di corgis' presence. Junor observe say di Queen, "essentially na very shy woman" wey no require to talk confidently to strangers, use di dogs to reduce her discomfort - including wit her relatives.

"Her family refer to am as 'di dog mechanism' […] If di situation become too difficult she go sometimes literally walk away from am and take di dogs out.

Tori be say Prince Andrew bin take three weeks to fight im way pass di dogs to tell im mama say im marriage to Sarah Ferguson dey in trouble," she write.

Di Queen also dey send di dogs to put oas at ease.

War surgeon Dr David Nott describe how di monarch get him through one lunch for Buckingham Palace wen im just return from Aleppo, for war-torn Syria, and find imself unable to speak to her due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Di Queen sense say sometin dey wrong and say, "Well, shall I help you?" before calling for her corgis, Dr Nott tok.

"All of a sudden di courtiers bring di corgis and di corgis go under di table.

"Di Queen open one tin of biscuits. "And so for 20 minutes during dis lunch di Queen and I feed di dogs. She do am becos she sabi say I bin dey seriously traumatised."

Because Her Majesty live to 96 years old, e get millions of pipo old enough to own dogs wey bin only sabi her as one grey-haired grandmother and great-grandmother.

As a result, dem bin dey see as corgis old pesin breed for some time.

Dia ascendency reach climax for di 1960s wit almost 9,000 puppy registrations, as di public coo over pictures of di Queen wit her young family and dogs.

But from di late 1990s in particular di decline begin show, and 2014 bin be dia annus horribilis or year of disaster. Wit just 274 new registrations, Pembrokes enta di Vulnerable Native Breed category for UK.

Den Netflix come, and salvation in di form of Di Crown, wey im first season for 2016 turn di clock back to di start of di Queen reign.

Claire Foy sympathetically play di role, wey her nuanced performance included litany of expressive ways to say di word "oh…", di youthful royal bin dey frequently surrounded by a pack of corgis, as wit Olivia Colman, her successor for di role.

Foy tell Vanity Fair how dem bribe di on-set dogs wit treats and especially loved cheese, tinking: "You sort of worry say dem go get heart attack wen you dey give am to dem.

Dis Corgis deycheesed up to di max - dem dey eat like a whole block of cheddar every day. E dey scary."

Numbers recover, wit corgi puppy registrations up by 16% for 2017 after dem air di first season, and 47% for 2018 after di second. E no be only about Di Crown.

Di James Bond skit starring di Queen and three royal corgis for di 2012 Olympics opening ceremony also see dem tummy-roll back into di public consciousness.

Even Bridgerton - Netflix wildly popular Regency romp - insert one historically improbable corgi into series 2. Co-star review include "e no go move it e no get treat", but audiences love am.

Social media don also become vital to di corgi return, as Chris Equale, owner of TikTok stars Hammy and Olivia, knows well.

Chris, 34, launch one viral sensation mainly by accident for April 2020, wit one video of im corgi Olivia dey bark one vacuum cleaner. "E bin get 250,000 view in just under 20 minutes," im remember.

Two years and seven million followers later, im make more dan 700 talking corgi skits.

Dem include one running joke about di dogs war wit "di dragon" (their dust-blitzing nemesis), and di vacuum company don pile come to sponsor content.

Wen dem ask am about corgis wey dey charm pipo, im reply:

"E get sometin very unique about corgi - na just dog wey you really want to root for. Dem be di greatest herders you go ever see! But if you look at dem di first time, na like, na dog na, na loaf of bread? E get sometin so lovable about dem."

Di Kennel Club Ciara Farrell agree say di corgi anatomy body-type na di main tin about dia loud appeal.

"One of di tins be say pipo love big ear - sometin wey you fit lean into if you dey make soft toy. Dem be spitz breed, dia so pointy face, bring foxiness in. dem look tough one kain but cute."

Oga Equale see di Queen as "di pioneer of di breed" wey im describe say e look like oversize potato, e excitedly add say: "I bin only get dis two [Hammy and Olivia] for like… seven years? So to do that 10 times over dey just fascinating.

"For dog park dis na always di first tin wey dey always comot from di mouth of pipo wey dey pass: 'Oh you sabi say na di Queen get those dogs!'"

Di breed dey inextricably tied to di monarchy for di minds of di public while di Queen reign.

But for di era of King Charles III, wey once say im prefer Labradors and na long-time owner of Jack Russell terriers, corgis fit expect anoda drop popularity?

"I hope not," Madam Farrell tok. "I tink corgis don make great progress in recent years."

She believe say dem go always be di Queen iconic dogs, but di more potential owners see corgis online, di less im go get dat important connection wit di royals.

"E go get generation of pipo wey dey use social media wey go see dem as characterful and fun. I tink dem dey here to to stay, definitely."



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Source: BBC