The unexpected royal family member that will now take care of Queen Elizabeth's beloved dogs

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When the Queen died late last week at the age of 96, she left behind four beloved dogs - about which some unusual comments have been made - and a question as to who is likely to take on the royal canines.

Her bereft pets are two corgis, Candy and Muick, a corgi-dachshund cross - also known as a "Dorgi" - named Sandy, and Lissy, her most recently acquired cocker spaniel she named after herself.

Now it seems Queen Elizabeth’s beloved surviving corgis will be cared for by the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York.

A spokesperson for Prince Andrew said he and Sarah will take on the pets, named Muick and Sandy – who were gifted to the late monarch by the duke during lockdown to keep her entertained while her husband the Duke of Edinburgh was in hospital and she was staying in Windsor.

Her Majesty, who died September 8 aged 96 at her home in Balmoral, owned more than 30 corgis during her lifetime, each descended from her first, Susan, an 18th birthday present from her father, George VI.

A source also revealed the Duke of York would take the dogs into his 30-bedroom Royal Lodge home in Windsor.

An insider was quoted by The Sun saying: “It's fascinating – Charles is now King, Camilla is Queen Consort, William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales… (Andrew) just gets the dogs.

“At least he's got plenty of time on his hands after stepping back from Royal duties.”

In early 2021, the Queen was given two new puppies, one corgi and the other a dorgi, a corgi-dachsund mixed breed.

The monarch named the dorgi Fergus after an uncle, her mother’s brother, Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who was killed in World War I in 1915.

Muick was named after a favourite spot near Balmoral Castle, where she traditionally spent her summers.

The late monarch was left devastated after the five-month-old Fergus died just weeks after she received him, shortly after Prince Philip also died, in April 2021, aged 99.

He was later replaced with a new corgi puppy from Andrew and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie for her official 95th birthday, who the Queen named Sandy.

Andrew appeared in public eye for the first time since his father’s memorial service in March.

He attended a prayer service for the Queen at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral alongside other members of the royal family, and thanked mourners for visiting the Queen’s home in a short speech in which he said: “We’ve been allowed one day, now we start the process of handing (the Queen) on.

“It’s nice to see you, thank you for coming.”

Queen Elizabeth’s grieving children watched as her coffin arrived in Edinburgh to lie in rest at the Palace of Holyroodhouse overnight.

The British monarch’s oak casket will stay in the throne room after a six-hour, 180-mile journey from Balmoral, where she died peacefully aged 96 on September 8.

Tens of thousands of mourners stood for hours in the streets of the Scottish capital Edinburgh to pay their respects to the late monarch as she left Balmoral Castle for the final time.

The hearse bearing the Queen’s coffin arrived at the Palace just before 4.30pm, where it was received by Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

The Queen’s cortege then received a guard of honour by the King’s Bodyguard for Scotland before the coffin was carried out by pallbearers and taken inside the palace.

It will then be moved on to St Giles’ Cathedral where a huge crowd gathered over the weekend to witness the midday proclamation of King Charles as head of state.

Princess Anne, who had followed the hearse, bowed when her mother arrived at the Scottish Parliament, while her two brothers and Edward's wife Sophie Wessex looked sombre as they received the coffin – draped in the Royal Standard for Scotland with a wreath of Balmoral flowers on
top.

As the Queen’s coffin passed the Scottish Parliament, Scotland's political leaders – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar,
Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater and Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton – stood outside Holyrood.

King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, will visit Edinburgh and join his other siblings walking behind his late mother’s coffin when it is moved from the Palace to St Giles’ Cathedral.

At 7.20pm, the new monarch will hold a vigil at the late Queen’s coffin with other members of the royal family.

The Queen will remain in Scotland until Tuesday night when the Princess Royal will accompany her late mother from Edinburgh Airport to RAF Northolt.

Her coffin will be met by a Guard of Honour from the King’s Guard as it arrives at Buckingham Palace, and King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will watch as it is carried to the Bow Room where chaplains will keep watch.

There will be a horse and carriage procession through the streets of London at 2.22pm to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, with at least one million mourners expected to visit her coffin as the Queen lies in state for four days.

Members of the Royal Family are expected to take turns standing guard in a tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes, as in 2002 Prince Edward and Charles stood watch over the Queen Mother’s casket.

The Queen will then be laid to rest on Monday, September 19, at 11am (10pm NZT) – with the state funeral officially declared a Bank Holiday in the UK.

A two-minute’s silence expected to be held in her honour across the nation at midday.

The Queen’s resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel where her mother and father were buried along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.

Her husband of 73 years Prince Philip’s coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join Her Majesty.

- Bang! Showbiz