Queen Elizabeth’s Beloved Corgi Crosses the Royal Rainbow Bridge
Every pet owner knows that when it’s time for your beloved fur-baby to cross the Rainbow Bridge, it will be hard.
And royal pet parents are not exempt from the heartache and hard-decision making that comes with the last days of a dog’s life. Holly, Queen Elizabeth’s 13-year-old Corgi, had been suffering from the ailments that commonly accompany old age, and Her Majesty made the difficult decision to let her go peacefully to the other side of the bridge.
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You may know Holly from the famous scene she and Her Royal Mum were in (with James Bond, no less!) for the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, or you simply may know her as one of the Queen’s beloved crew of pups, who also include her remaining Corgi (also 13-years-old) Willow and her two Dorgis (Corgi/Daschund mix) Vulcan and Candy. All four were photographed in now-famous 90th birthday pictures the Queen had made and which were displayed on the cover of Vanity Fair this summer.
Queen Elizabeth has long been known as an avid pet-lover, and particularly partial to Corgis. Her parents gave her her first Corgi, Susan, when she turned 18, and over the years, the Queen has continued to breed Susan’s descendants. In fact, Holly and Willow were/are the 14th generation descendants of Susan, who lived to be 15, and will be the last Corgi’s the Queen will mother.
Worrying that younger pups running around as they did in years past could be a danger to the aged Queen, and not wanting to leave any of her pets ‘motherless,’ the Queen no longer breeds from Susan’s line, or any others, and even turned down the gift of two puppies from her granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, last summer.
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Ever the avid and responsible dog lover and owner, the Queen’s relationship with her dogs throughout the last seven decades is one well-known and documented. Her dogs have always lived like kings and queens, but more, have provided the Queen with love and companionship in an often isolated and world. Holly was buried on the grounds of Balmoral, where the Queen and her family were just finishing up a vacation, and the Queen has been very sad over loss of one of her precious pack.
Our condolences to the Queen, and our thanks for showing the world how much better life is when filled with dogs.
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