Prince Andrew and Fergie, Duchess of York Will Inherit the Queen's Corgis, PEOPLE Confirms
Queen Elizabeth's much-loved corgis have a new home.
The late monarch's two dogs are now with the Duke and Duchess of York — Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (a.k.a. Fergie) — a source close to the Duke confirms to PEOPLE.
"The corgis will return to live at Royal Lodge with the Duke and Duchess. It was the Duchess who found the puppies, which were gifted to Her Majesty by the Duke," the insider says.
PA Images via Getty; Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Queen Elizabeth, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
Despite divorcing in 1996, Fergie and Andrew remain on friendly terms and they still live together at their family home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.
The source adds that Fergie previously "bonded with Her Majesty over dog-walking and riding horses and even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty, by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting."
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Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Princess Elizabeth and her dogs
After being gifted her first corgi in 1933 by her father, Queen Elizabeth was dog mum to more than 30 corgis and dachshund-corgi mixes known as "dorgis."
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The monarch opted to stop taking on corgis in the mid-2010s because she did not want to leave any dog behind when she died.
In 2021, however, she did welcome new additions to the royal corgi pack. After receiving two puppies in March 2021 not long before Prince Philip's death — and suffering the loss of one dog just weeks later — Prince Andrew gifted his mother with a new puppy on what would have been Philip's 100th birthday, a full circle moment from Elizabeth's first gifted corgi when she was just 7 years old.
Bettmann Queen Elizabeth
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The Queen's son has made headlines in recent years after the fallout of his scandal surrounding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre's sexual assault lawsuit against the royal.
In January, the Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his military titles and patronages amid the lawsuit, in which Giuffre alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at the age of 17. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
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Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth's death on Thursday. After her 70-year rule, she was the longest-reigning British monarch.
The news of Queen Elizabeth's death comes with another history-making moment: She is succeeded immediately by her eldest son, Prince Charles, 73, who will now be the monarch.
Charles' firstborn son, Prince William, 40, is now next in line to the world's most famous throne, followed by his firstborn son, Prince George, 9. Her death follows her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died at age 99 in June 2021.
