Grieving Queen will be consoled by new puppies, says royal expert

The Queen’s life-long love of horses and dogs is well known and she has recently been given a corgi called Muick and a dorgi named Fergus.
The Queen
PA Wire
Tony Jones19 April 2021

The Queen’s new puppies are likely to play an important role consoling their owner as mourning continues for the Duke of Edinburgh according to a royal expert.

Poignant images from Philip’s funeral on Saturday showed the monarch sitting alone in St George’s Chapel at Windsor and on Wednesday she will mark her 95th birthday – only able to meet those outside her household in the open air.

But the grieving Queen will have two lively new companions – a corgi called Muick and a dorgi named Fergus – running around her feet and providing a “distraction”, along with her elderly dorgi Candy.

Queen welcomes two new puppies
PA Wire

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said: “The thinking was enough was enough, and that she was getting too old for new dogs and who would look after them when she was gone.

“But clearly that decision was reversed and, as it turned out, it probably is very fortuitous. I think it’s useful to have these puppies in her life now as way of a distraction.”

The Queen’s life-long love of horses and dogs is well known and, while Philip spent his final period in hospital, it emerged the Queen had been given the puppies.

Mr Little believes that, while Buckingham Palace will remain the seat of the royal court, the Queen may make Windsor Castle her permanent home, travelling to the capital for official events.

The Queen’s birthday will fall during the period of royal mourning so any public events to mark it – such as the release of an official picture – are likely to be cancelled.

Duke of Edinburgh death
PA Wire

Mr Little said: “She will mark her first birthday as a widow, and 95 is quite a significant birthday.

“I don’t think there would have been a fuss made of it, but nevertheless 95 is quite something. This is going to be a private day for her and that’s how it should be.

“Royal mourning continues until Friday so that makes it even more of a sombre occasion.”

In paying tribute to Philip, who died peacefully at Windsor on April 9, aged 99, members of the royal family have been rallying to the Queen’s side and said they will continue to support her in the future.

Duke of Edinburgh death
PA Wire

The Queen returned to public duties a few days after the death of her “beloved” husband and is expected to return to a full diary of official events after the period of royal mourning ends this week.

Mr Little added: “I think she will be personally devastated by this, but I don’t think the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband of 73 years, is going to impact on her working role.

“I think, as monarch, although she doesn’t have him there for guidance, I think her role will continue pretty much as it has for the last 69 years.

“There’s the public queen and there’s the private queen, and she’s great at being able to compartmentalise.”

Duke of Edinburgh funeral
PA Wire

The Queen has been spending the lockdown at Windsor Castle with a reduced number of staff and aides dubbed HMS Bubble and, under Covid regulations, will be restricted in the number of birthday well-wishers she can see outside.

But Philip’s funeral would have provided the opportunity for her to speak with the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and her other grandchildren.

Asked about the funeral during a briefing, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman highlighted that Boris Johnson had observed the national minute’s silence in memory of the duke on Saturday afternoon.

He added: “Alongside many of us across the country, he thought that the funeral was a poignant and fitting tribute to a much-loved and highly respected public figure, whose extraordinary life we will forever remember with gratitude for his decades of selfless service to this country.”

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