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It’s no secret the queen of England is a proud and loyal animal lover. Not only is the 92-year-old a patron of the Zoological Society of London, but she has also spent her life caring for horses and dogs in her spare time.
Now, after more than 70 years of keeping corgis, the queen’s last one has passed away. A royal spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Mail that Whisper, a 12-year-old male corgi, died at Windsor Castle last week.
The queen adopted Whisper in 2016 when his original owner (the former gamekeeper of Sandringham) Bill Fenwick passed away. They quickly became close friends, with reports saying the dog regularly followed the queen from room to room and around the castle.
Whisper’s death comes just eight months after the queen’s second-last corgi, Willow, passed away in April. Willow, who was a direct descendant of the monarch’s first ever corgi Susan, died from cancer at the age of 14.
Queen Elizabeth II has had a particular fondness for corgis because it was the preferred breed of her father, King George VI. In fact, it was her father who gifted her first corgi, Susan, in 1944; when the now-queen was just 18-years-old.
Since then, the royal has bred and kept more than 30 corgis in her home; most of whom were direct descendants of Susan herself. She has also kept labradors and dachshunds; with her two remaining dogs – dorgis called Vulcan and Candy – being crosses between dachshunds and corgis.
Despite her love for the breed, the queen decided to stop breeding corgis five years ago. Her first reason for this was a fear of tripping over an excitable puppy in her old age; secondly, she worried about who would care for the dogs after her death.
While Susan’s family line may have come to an end, her legacy will live on in the many photos the queen has had taken (including this special edition cover of Vanity Fair, in celebration of the royal’s ninetieth birthday).
Top photos: The Queen via the royal family on Instagram, and corgi via Pixabay.com