The Duchess of York has opened up about how one of the late Queen’s corgis she adopted after the monarch’s death grieved for its owner.
Sarah Ferguson co-hosted This Morning on Monday (20 November), assisting regular presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Towards the end of the episode, Fergie and O’Leary sat with dog trainer Graeme Hall, presenter of the Channel 5 show Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly.
After Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022, the Duchess and her former husband Prince Andrew adopted two of her corgis, Muick and Sandy.
During the conversation, Fergie revealed it has taken around a year for Muick to come to terms with Elizabeth II’s death.
“There are two corgis that came, big Muick and Sandy, and there were five Norfolk Terriers that were there too – seven in all,” she explained.
“And big Muick is very, very, very demonstrative, he had his tail down to begin with and then now, a year later … he’s just beginning now to really enjoy [himself].”
Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson on ‘This Morning’— (ITV / screengrab)
Fergie, 64, has shared regular updates on her life with the Queen’s dogs, and posted a social media picture with them on the anniversary of the late monarch’s death.
Responding to Fergie’s description of the dogs’ behaviour, Hall, nicknamed The Dogfather, explained that the canines were experiencing a “settling in” process that is similar to grief.
“It’s a big deal for them,” he explained. “You’re losing the person that you’ve been with – mum. And then you find yourself in a different place. So you’ve almost got two problems at once, there.
“There’s a kind of grieving process, and we know that dogs do go through a grieving process as well. We don’t fully understand it because we can’t chat to them over a cup of coffee, but you certainly see behaviour change, sometimes they’re very flat.”
The Duchess went on to comment how Muick was demanding extra attention: “He’s just sort of putting himself in the way so when I go to pat one dog, he comes straight in the way.”
Hall advised the duchess to firmly say “no” to the dog if it tries to come between her and another pet, and then praise it afterwards if it complies.
The duchess said about her pets: “They all get on, you just have to be mindful. And they all have their own characters, and be mindful of their characters.”
Elsewhere in the programme, Fergie assisted Hammond and O’Leary with looking through stories in the newspapers, joined by Gyles Brandreth.
When the discussion turned to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, the royal figure admitted that she’d been asked to appear on the Australian survival show “every single year”.
She also shared her advice on bringing the spark back to a dwindling relationship for two lovelorn viewers, instructing them to invest in some “saucy underwear”.
