The Queen's corgis would 'slump' on the floor when they saw her wear her tiara

While we loved seeing Her Majesty in her many magnificent tiaras, her beloved Corgis knew it meant they weren’t going with her for a walk

The Queen's Corgis were beloved, but they didn't like this one thing
(Image credit: Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

It’s been revealed that, despite Her Majesty devoting much of her free time to her beloved Corgis, there came a time quite frequently where they would slump down and act sad because of something the Queen did. The Corgi and the Queen author Caroline Perry explains that whenever the late Queen would wear a tiara, the Corgis understood it meant duty was calling – and they wouldn’t be joined by Her Majesty on a walk.


The late Queen’s beloved dogs were just as much a symbol of her reign as the Crown Jewels.

The Corgi was even included in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as a nod to the enduring love story between the Queen and the cute breed.

But there was something which the Queen did which made her Corgis sad, it’s been revealed. Caroline Perry, author of The Corgi and the Queen, told PEOPLE that when the Queen would wear one of her many fascinating tiaras, the dogs would be glum.

While we love Queen Elizabeth’s tiaras, the dogs saw them as something else – all work and no play.

The Queen had at least 30 Corgis in her lifetime

(Image credit: Bettmann/Getty)

She explains, “When the Queen would walk into this room wearing her tiara, the dogs would slump on the floor looking really sad because they knew she was the Queen and they knew she was going to an official work function," Perry says. "When she walked in in her headscarf, they would jump up and bark and rush to the door because they knew she was off-duty Elizabeth, and she was going to take them for their walk."

"She really did adore every single one of the dogs she had as a companion," the author notes.

Their luxurious lifestyle included private jets, their own room at Buckingham Palace and their own luxury menu – personally overseen by the Queen.

The Corgis were known to be flown by private jet

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The Queen had at least 30 Corgis throughout her lifetime, and the love story with the pint-sized pooches started with a little lady named Susan.

Susan was the Queen’s first ever Corgi – a sweet birthday gift for the then Princess turning 18.  The dog quickly became a constant companion for the young Princess during tough times, including World War II, the death of King George VI, and the beginning of her historic 70-year reign.

Such was the affinity for Susan that the Queen actually had 14 generations of dogs bred, all going back to Susan as the matriarch. She was, you could argue, a Queen herself among the four-legged members of the Royal Family.

Susan was one of the first Corgis given to the young Elizabeth

(Image credit: Lisa Sheridan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"That's how much she loved Susan," Perry, who participated in Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June and saw the monarch as she stepped out on Buckingham Palace's balcony, says. "She just did not want that legacy to end."

The Queen had two corgis and one dorgi at the time of her death - a dorgi being a mix between a corgi and dachshund.

The dogs have since gone to live with her former daughter-in-law, Sarah Ferguson. The Duchess of York has been sharing sweet updates of the pups on her social media.

Jack Slater
Freelance writer

Jack Slater is not the Last Action Hero, but that's what comes up first when you Google him. Preferring a much more sedentary life, Jack gets his thrills by covering news, entertainment, celebrity, film and culture for woman&home, and other digital publications.

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