The Duchess of York has welcomed the Queen's corgis into the home she shares with her ex-husband Prince Andrew. Sarah Ferguson announced the news on Instagram after the pair said they would take the dogs in following Her Majesty's death. Fergie posted a picture of her with the two corgis looking happy outside in the sun on Saturday morning. Alongside the picture she wrote: "The presents that keep giving."
The former couple have remained friendly since their split in 1992. The Duke of York was recently stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages, but Sarah Ferguson has retained her Duchess status and remains close to the Royal Family. The 62-year-old mum of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie was recently reported to have invested in a £5 million Mayfair property, not too far from her own home at the Grade II listed Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Previously the pair moved into a home in Ascot at Sunninghill Park after they wed in 1986. Worth £15 million when it sold in 2016, the estate was gifted to the pair and custom built in 1987. In 2002, Prince Andrew inherited Royal Lodge following the death of the Queen Mother. The family of four moved into the 30-bedroom property shortly after. The couple had already divorced in 1996, but continued to live amicably at the family home together - and they are still there today.
During an interview in 2015, Fergie said: “Andrew and I, we’re the happiest divorced couple in the world - extraordinary, really, isn’t it? We live in the same house, but then, it’s a big house, so that’s OK. But I think it’s really good that we believe in compromise and communication and compassion and family.”
A spokesperson for the Duke of York recently confirmed the divorcees will take on Muick and Sandy - two of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved corgis. Her Majesty had stopped breeding dogs seven years ago as she was reluctant to leave any behind when she died. Now at the £30 million mansion, the dogs are likely to have their own rooms and can enjoy the 21 acres of private gardens which surround the house.
It is understood that Andrew and his daughters gave her Muick and Sandy in recent years and promised to take care of them if she died. The family are said to have gifted her Muick while her husband Prince Philip was in hospital, while the Duke of York gave her Sandy in June on what would have been Prince Philip's 100th birthday, the Mirror reported.
Over her lifetime the Queen owned more than 30 corgis, all descended from her first, Susan, an 18th birthday gift from her father George VI. Among the corgis many names are Sugar, Buzz, Brush, Geordie, Smoky, Dash, Dime, Disco and Dipper. She is also credited with inventing the dorgi after her corgi Tiny and Princess Margaret's dachshund Pipkin unexpectedly got close in 1971. The Queen adored the puppies so much she decided to breed more over the years.
Following her death, a dog expert claimed the Queen's corgis may miss her and be suffering from depression. John Smith, dog expert and founder of pet personalisation product website Yappy, said while dogs do not understand the concept of death, the canines might feel the loss of their owner being gone. He said: “Dogs don’t quite understand the full extent of absence due to their owner passing away, so they don’t grieve death in a sense. Instead, they suffer a feeling of loss and emotional despair which abandoned dogs would feel too. These feelings can lend themselves to common and often devastating symptoms, such as whining, pacing, howling, loss of appetite, fidgeting, broken sleep patterns, anxiety, and lethargy.”
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