Prince William Gives a Much-Anticipated Update on the Queen’s Corgis

(Image credit: Getty)

published 18 September 2022

If you know even the first thing about Queen Elizabeth, you know that she adored her dogs—always corgis (or dorgis, which is part Welsh Corgi and part Dachshund). Thankfully, we’ve got further assurance that the Queen’s surviving pups are okay, thanks to an update Prince William gave a mourner—who he told the dogs are being “spoiled rotten” and have found a “good home.”

Speaking to a mourner on a walkabout at London’s Lambeth Bridge, the new Prince of Wales shook hands with a woman who asked him to do her a favor and give the pups some love, according to Us Weekly. “William said he would, and assured her the dogs were just fine,” the outlet reports.

“I saw them the other day,” he told the woman during the brief interaction, captured and shared via Sky News. “They’re going to be looked after fine. They’re two very friendly corgis and they’ve got a good home.”

He continued “They’re being looked after very well—spoiled rotten, I’m sure.”

The Queen owned over 30 corgis across her long lifetime, leaving at least two behind when she died September 8 at 96—Muick and Sandy. As Marie Claire previously reported, both of the dogs are now in the care of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who still live together at Royal Lodge. (Alternate reports say that a third corgi, Candy, also survives Her Majesty; the Duke and Duchess of York are only known to have Muick and Sandy, both of whom were gifts to the Queen from the Yorks in 2021.)

Dogs are special not just to Her Majesty, but to nearly all of the members of the royal family as well. On another walkabout last weekend, William told a mourner at Windsor Castle that he’d been relying on his own pup, Orla, for support during this difficult time.

“Dogs at this time are so important,” William said as he petted a well-wisher’s Italian greyhound. “I give my dogs a lot of cuddles at the moment. I’ve got a little spaniel called Orla. She’s very sweet.”

The photo, by the way? That’s the then-Princess Elizabeth at 18 years old with her original corgi, Susan, in 1944—the pup that started it all.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.