Queen Has Owned Corgis Since 1944. Now, No More

For the first time since 1944, Queen Elizabeth II does not own a corgi. Willow, nearly 15 years old and the last of the monarch's long line of corgis, was reportedly put down after a battle with cancer, though Buckingham Palace says it is a private matter and is not commenting. The Guardian reports that Willow was the 14th generation descended from a corgi then-Princess Elizabeth was given when she turned 18 at the end of World War II; she has owned more than 30 Pembrokeshire Welsh corgis since then. In 2015, it was reported that Elizabeth stopped breeding the dogs. "She didn't want to leave any young dog behind" when she died, a former royal adviser told Vanity Fair at the time.

The queen does still own Vulcan and Candy, "dorgis," a dachshund-corgi mix that resulted from Princess Margaret's dachshund mating with one of Elizabeth's corgis. Prior to Willow's death, the other two corgis who appeared with the queen and Daniel Craig in a James Bond sketch for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, Monty and Holly, had died. Monty died soon after filming the sketch, in which the three dogs performed tummy rolls and stood up, and Holly died in 2016. Sources tell the Telegraph Willow's death has been "extremely hard" for the queen. (More Queen Elizabeth II stories.)