Queen Elizabeth Names New Corgi After Royal Family Member

The newest members of the British royal family officially have names. After Queen Elizabeth welcomed two new furry friends to Windsor Castle in February, the names of her two new corgis have been revealed. According to The Sun, the canine companions are named Fergus and Muick, and both names have close ties to the Queen, with one even taking a little inspiration from other members of the royal family.

The outlet reports that Fergus, a dorgi (a cross with a dachshund), is named after Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the Queen's late uncle who died in France while serving during World War I in 1915 at the age of 26. A royal source said Bowes-Lyon "is still honoured by the family" to this day, and it is tradition for royal brides to lay their wedding bouquets in salute to the monarch's uncle at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. Muick, pronounced Mick, meanwhile, is named after Loch Muick on the Queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the monarch and her family travel often for picnics during their August and September breaks. The Sun's source said the location "is one of her favourite places on the Balmoral estate," and added that "both name choices are extremely poignant and dear to the Queen."

Fergus and Muick made their way into the royal family last month, with news of the new family members coming in early March as the queen's husband, Prince Phillip, was hospitalized for an infection. The 99-year-old remained in the hospital for several weeks and underwent surgery for a pre-existing heart condition before being released on March 16. The pups reside with the royal couple at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Phillip have stayed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The two corgis are just the latest the Queen has owned. The monarch has a notable affection for the breed and has had more than 30 dogs over the years and has owned a corgi or a dorgi since she was 18. In October 2018, the Queen's last corgi, Whisper, died, with dorgi Vulcan passing away last November. Since then, she has only had one dog, a dorgi named Candy, and it was initially believed she would not get any more dogs after she stopped breeding her dorgis in 2018. However, a source said it is "unthinkable that the Queen wouldn't have any corgis. It's like the Tower of London not having any ravens." The source added that Her Majesty "is delighted" and Fergus and Muick "are said to be bringing in a lot of noise and energy into the castle."