Queen Elizabeth’s Corgis Wait for Her Coffin in Heartbreaking Moment

Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis, Sandy and Muick, were seen watching outside Buckingham Palace to watch the funeral procession in London Monday. Palace staff also brought the Queen’s black Fell pony Carltonlima Emma outside to watch the procession. Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8 at age 96, following almost 70 years on the U.K. throne.

The funeral procession began early Monday morning, with the Queen’s casket being taken from Westminster Abbey to the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. As the procession came closer to Windsor, palace staffers brought Sandy and Muick outside. Emma was taken to the side of the road, standing at a cap in the floral tributes.

In addition to Sandy and Muick, both Pembroke welsh corgies, the Queen had two other dogs at the time of her death, the dorgi Candy and Lissy the cocker spaniel, notes The Guardian. Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will take care of the corgis after the Queen’s death. Andrew gave his mother Muick and dorgi Fergus as gifts during the 2021 coronavirus lockdown. After Fergus died in May 2021, just weeks after Prince Philip died, Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, gave the Queen Sandy as a gift for her official 95th birthday.

The name Muick came from Lock Muick on the Balmoral Estate, where the Queen died. After the Queen received the new dogs, Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser, said they made a great addition to the household. “I was worried they would get under the Queen’s feet, but they have turned out to be a godsend,” Kelly said, reports The Guardian. “They are beautiful and great fun and the Queen often takes long walks with them in Home Park.”

Queen Elizabeth had a lifelong love of corgis. Her father, King George VI, had a corgi named Dookie. She owned over 30 corgis in her life, mostly descended from Susan, a corgi her father gave her as an 18th birthday gift. The corgis famously had their own room and slept in cushioned wicker baskets. They were reportedly fed fresh rabbit and beef. The corgis Monty, Willow, and Holly co-starred in the famous James Bond sketch Queen Elizabeth II filmed with Daniel Craig for the London Olympics.

While greeting mourners on Saturday, Prince William was asked how the corgis will do after his grandmother’s death. “I saw them the other day, that got me quite sad,” Prince William said in a video caught by Sky News. “They are going to be looked after fine. They are two very friendly corgis, so they’ve got a good home… They’ll be looked after very well. Spoiled rotten, I’m sure.

As for Emma, Windsor groomer Terry Pendry named her one of the Queen’s favorite horses in a 2020 issue of Horse & Hound. The Queen was a patron of the Fell Pony Society and continued riding horses into her 90s.