A group of pet owners and their corgis paraded outside Buckingham Palace on Sunday to mark the approaching one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death.Photo:AP Photo/Alastair Grant
AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Queen Elizabethwas remembered in a special — and very fitting — way on Sunday.
A group of about 20 royal fans and their pet corgis took part in a parade outside Buckingham Palace in London to mark the upcoming first anniversary of the late monarch’s death. The animals were decked out for the occasion in crowns, tiaras and other royal outfits.
Agatha Crerer-Gilbert, who organized the memorial event, told theAssociated Pressshe hopes the parade takes place every year in the future. “I can’t see a better way to remember her than through her corgis, through the breed that she loved and cherished through her life,” she said of Queen Elizabeth,who died on Sept. 8, 2022, at age 96.
“You know, I can’t still get used to the fact that she’s not physically around us, but she’s looking at us. Look, the sun is shining, I thought it would shine on us today,” Crerer-Gilbert added.
A group of pet owners dressed up their corgis to take part in a parade in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s memory.AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Crerar-Gilbert and her husband, Fernando, are the proud pet parents of 5-year-old Cardigan Welsh corgi Ruffus, who participated in the parade in costume, and they said they will “carry on the royal tradition of always having a corgi," adding that corgi owners will forever be indebted to the Queen.
“Many of us feel that manifesting our lasting respect and love for the Queen is best expressed through a coming together of the corgi community,” Crerar-Gilbert said. “Corgis are very playful and bring smiles to many faces. After the Queen’s death, they helped to lift the mood, and I think she would have very much approved of this gathering. It feels like the perfect way to honor her legacy.”
Caroline Perry, the author ofThe Corgi and the Queen,says the anniversary of the Queen’s passing is a time of great significance for corgi owners.
“From when she was a very young girl, Elizabeth was besotted with the breed,” she tells PEOPLE. Queen Elizabeth’s lifelong love for the corgi breed began in 1933 when her father, the soon-to-be King George VI,brought home a corgi named Dookie from a local kennel. A second corgi, named Jane, soon followed.
Perry adds, “And on her 18th birthday the only gift she wanted was a corgi puppy of her own. That dog, Susan, was the matriarch of a regal dog dynasty, with 30 corgis directly descended from the pup who many consider to be one of the true loves of Elizabeth’s life.”
A young Queen Elizabeth poses with one of her corgis in 1952.Bettmann
In addition to corgis, Queen Elizabeth was also a dog mom dachshund-corgi mixesknown as “dorgis,” a breed she’s credited with creating!
Her faithful furry companions enjoyed lives of luxury, including an elaborate menu of foods that Queen Elizabeth would often hand-feed to them herself, according to former royal chefDarren McGrady. The pups also went on daily walks with the late monarch and rode with her in limousines and on private planes.
Perry says that Queen Elizabeth was a very hands-on owner. “She fed the corgis herself and trained them so that each dog would wait patiently until it was his or her time to eat. She walked them every day. She made each dog their very own Christmas stocking, filled with little treats. She knew all of their personalities, and their likes and dislikes. Corgis are very charming and spirited dogs, but the Queen was the alpha of her pack!”
Corgi Parade.Agatha Crerar-Gilbert
Agatha Crerar-Gilbert
Two of Queen Elizabeth’s corgis await the arrival of her coffin at Windsor Castle.GLYN KIRK/POOL/AFP via Getty
“I wanted something that reflected Her Majesty as a Queen rather than as a person for posterity,” Dr. Sarah Furness, the Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, told the outlet. “But we wanted to do something that reflected her warmth and humanity too.”
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Corgi Parade.Chris Rowan
Chris Rowan
Sculptor Hywel Brân Pratley, who is adding two more corgis to the unfinished sculpture, explained why he chose to make the dogs a centerpiece of the statue.
source: people.com
