Queen Elizabeth Penned a Heartfelt Letter to the Vet Who Cared for Her Beloved Corgi, Susan
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Lisa Sheridan/Hulton Archive/Getty Queen Elizabeth and Susan
Even in a second of nice disappointment, Queen Elizabeth took the time to thank the veterinarian who cared for her beloved corgi, Susan, earlier than her demise.
Susan, the monarch’s pet canine who was the matriarch of 14 generations of royal corgis, died on Jan. 26, 1959. After Susan’s demise, Queen Elizabeth penned a thanks notice to veterinarian Harold Swann, who had tried to avoid wasting the Pembroke Welsh corgi’s life.
In her letter, the Queen wrote: “I want to thanks for all you probably did for my pricey previous Susan when she grew to become unwell, and for the immense quantity of bother you took in getting her despatched to Cambridge and for all of the care she had whereas she was there. I had at all times dreaded shedding her as I had had her since she was six weeks previous, however I’m ever so grateful that her struggling was so mercifully brief.”
The letter was signed, “Yours sincerely, Elizabeth R,” with the “R” standing for “Regina,” the Latin phrase for queen.
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Anwar Hussein/Getty
Susan was buried on the Sandringham property with a particular gravestone that learn, “For nearly 15 years, the trustworthy companion of the Queen.” The monarch “personally selected the inscription for the gravestone,” Caroline L. Perry, creator of The Corgi and the Queen, tells PEOPLE.
The long run monarch was surrounded by canine (and corgis, particularly) all through her childhood, however it was for her 18th birthday that she obtained Susan as a present.
“Susan was there for a lot of of crucial moments in Elizabeth’s life,” explains Perry. “She was by her royal companion’s aspect when Elizabeth joined a girls’s regiment when the Princess served her nation in the course of the struggle. She was there when her companion married Prince Philip, who grew to become the second love of Elizabeth’s life! Susan additionally offered consolation when Elizabeth’s beloved ‘Papa’ King George VI died; when she was topped Queen on the age of solely 25, and when she grew to become a mom.”
AFP through Getty Queen Elizabeth and Susan
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Queen Elizabeth stopped breeding her corgis descendent from Susan in 2012 as she did not need to go away any behind when she died. Nevertheless, she received two puppies in March 2021, shortly earlier than Prince Philip‘s demise. After one of many canine died simply weeks later, Prince Andrew gifted his mother with a brand new pet on what would have been Philip’s a centesimal birthday.
Muick and Sandy have been exterior as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrived at her closing resting place at Windsor Fort throughout her Sept. 2022 funeral processions. (The Queen’s canine now live with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, on the Royal Lodge in Windsor together with 5 Norfolk terriers. Fergie advised The Telegraph: “All of them steadiness out, the carpet strikes as I transfer however I’ve obtained used to it now.”)
GLYN KIRK/POOL/AFP through Getty Queen Elizabeth’s corgis at her funeral
Queen Elizabeth was so carefully related along with her corgis that the canine breed is even featured on gifts at the Royal Collection Shop.
“Susan’s legacy was enduring,” says Perry. “Due to her — and her descendants — the corgi will ceaselessly be the image of the second Elizabethan age.”
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Godwin Books The Corgi and the Queen
The Corgi and the Queen by Caroline Perry with illustrations by Lydia Corry is now on sale.