Critics Savagely Mock Prince Andrew Upon Learning He’ll Inherit the Queen’s Corgis
After news broke that Queen Elizabeth II — the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch — died on Sept. 8 at age 96, many were left wondering what would come next for the royal family. Shortly after, a different question began making the rounds: What would happen to the queen’s beloved corgis? According to a recent report, the dogs will go to the controversial Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York. The news quickly reached social media, where users are viciously mocking the queen’s embattled son.
Prince Andrew will inherit Queen Elizabeth’s corgis
Although the royal family has yet to confirm the news, a source recently told NPR that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife will look after Queen Elizabeth II’s two young corgis — Muick and Sandy — at the Royal Lodge on Windsor grounds.
Prince Andrew and his daughters gave the pets as gifts to the queen last year. The dogs were intended to lift her spirits after her husband of nearly 74 years, Prince Philip, died in April 2021.
According to the report, it remains unclear who will care for the queen’s other dogs, a cocker spaniel named Lissy and a dachshund-corgi mix named Candy. Some royal experts speculate the dogs might be separated and given to various family members, though it has yet to be confirmed.
Social media users mock Prince Andrew after learning he’ll care for the queen’s dogs
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that users on TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms were quick to react upon learning the news that Prince Andrew would inherit the queen’s corgis.
People didn’t hesitate when making memes ruthlessly mocking the prince, who’s been the subject of controversy since he was linked to the celebrity scandal surrounding financier Jeffrey Epstein. The previously convicted sex offender was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking and died in prison while awaiting trial.
One TikTok caption reads, “Corgis when they hear they’ve got to live with Prince Andrew,” accompanied by a clip of a corgi hopping over a dog gate, rushing down the stairs, and running away.
Another video shows a TikTok user packing a bag and grabbing her passport after reading the corgis will go to Prince Andrew. The caption reads, “I must save the corgis!”
A now-viral post from a Twitter user also shows a savage response to the news that Andrew will take on the corgis. “Is it because he’s good at grooming?” she writes, referring to Andrew’s ties to Epstein and his alleged underaged sex-trafficking ring.
Since Andrew was exposed for being friends with Epstein, the prince has struggled to keep his name out of headlines. His reputation wasn’t helped by the fact that he was sued in 2019 by a woman who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault when she was 17. As a result, Queen Elizabeth was forced to strip her son of his “Duke of York” title and military patronages, Forbes reported.
But although the queen may have put her foot down amid the accusations, she was rumored to have been the first person Andrew came to for advice about what to do with his life post-scandal.
However, the newly crowned King Charles III and Prince William are allegedly reluctant to allow Andrew back into the royal fold. That could mean the queen’s corgis might be the only thing he’ll inherit under Charles’ new reign.
How Queen Elizabeth’s love of corgis started a phenomenon
Queen Elizabeth’s love of corgis — specifically the Pembroke Welsh breed — began in 1933, when she was a 7-year-old princess, BBC News reports. At the time, some of the young royal’s friends owned corgis, prompting her to want one of her own.
Her father approached a breeder about adopting a dog, and the family eventually settled on a corgi officially named Rozavel Golden Eagle (later nicknamed “Dookie”). Citing an affection for the breed, Elizabeth and her family continued adopting corgis throughout the decades.
According to the Kennel Club, figures started to show a clear spike in Pembroke corgi registrations in 1936 and another in 1944 — when the queen adopted her beloved corgi, Susan, and eventually founded a line of Windsor Pembroke corgis and dachshund-corgi hybrids, also known as “dorgis,” that continued for 14 generations.
In all her years of breeding, Elizabeth never sold any of her puppies, which meant the queen was always accompanied by a “moving carpet” of dogs — a phrase that Princess Diana allegedly coined. All stayed with the queen or were given to breeders, relatives, or friends. The dogs even had a private “corgi room” in Buckingham Palace.
Prince Andrew’s adopting Elizabeth’s remaining corgis seems to be part of a longstanding tradition. The queen adopted her own mother’s three corgis after she died in 2002. Since then, the royal household’s breeding program has ended because Elizabeth reportedly didn’t want to leave any young dogs behind when she died.
