Sarah Ferguson poses with Queen’s corgis for first time since they moved in with Duchess and Prince Andrew
SARAH Ferguson has posed for pictures with the Queen’s corgis for the first time the dogs moved in with the Duchess and Prince Andrew.
The Duchess of York, 63, took to social media to post the snaps to mark her birthday and described the pets as “the presents that keep giving”.
The images show the Duchess lying in the grass as she plays with the two pooches, Muick and Sandy, in the autumn sunshine.
She beams with delight while dressed in a green velvet jacket and colourful scarf.
Last week she said it was a “big honour” to have taken in the late Queen Elizabeth’s beloved pets, saying they were “national treasures” and revealed they had “been taught well.”
Since their move, the dogs have been getting used to their new life and the five Norfolk terriers that live with Sarah and her ex-husband Prince Andrew, at Royal Lodge, Windsor.
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Sarah joked: “They all balance out, the carpet moves as I move but I’ve got used to it now.”
The Duke of York, 62, gave his mum the two dogs, Muick and Fergus, during lockdown last March in a bid to cheer her up while her husband Prince Philip was in hospital.
The puppies had been found by the Duchess.
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Fergus sadly died last May but he was replaced by another corgi, Sandy, who along with Muick were said to have brought the late monarch “constant joy”.
The Duchess is said to have bonded with the dogs as they walked them at Frogmore House in Windsor.
A source close to the Duke told the Telegraph last month: “The Duchess 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.”
While at the Henley Literary Festival to promote her Mills & Boon novel, the Duchess highlighted her close relationship with the late Queen.
She said Queen Elizabeth had given her blessing to write the novels and had ben her inspiration when it came to creating characters.
‘THE FINEST EVER ICON’
Sarah described her late mother-in-law as a “wonderful friend” and “the finest ever icon… legendary, incredible.”
“It’s been all my life that I’ve known the boss and there’s no one like her,” she said.
“I wouldn’t do anything unless the boss gave me her blessing though, and still to this day, I think about that.”
The Duchess appears to have been welcomed back into the Royal Family last summer when Sarah was invited to join them at Balmoral castle.
In a statement released following the Queen’s death, the Duchess said: “I will always be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to me even after my divorce. I will miss her more than words can express.”
QUEEN’S LIFE-LONG LOVE OF CORGIS
The Queen fell in love with corgis as a child and held a lifelong affection for them.
She owned more than 30 over the years, many of whom were direct descendants of the first, Susan, given to her as an 18th birthday present by her parents in 1944.
The then Princess Elizabeth had fallen in love with her father’s dog Dookie, a Pembrokeshire corgi, and wanted one of her own.
She was left devastated though in April 2018 when Willow, who was a descendent from Susan, died.
Her two remaining dogs were dorgis, Candy and Vulcan, but Vulcan died in December 2020, leaving the monarch with just one dog, Candy.
She is thought to have been delighted though when Prince Andrew gave her the two new puppies in early 2021.
The Queen named the dorgi Fergus after her uncle, who was killed in action during the First World War, and the corgi Muick – pronounced Mick – after Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate.
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She was “devastated” when five-month-old Fergus died just weeks later from a heart problem it had since birth, having “seen Her Majesty through a difficult time of loss and grief,” a source said at the time.
He was replaced with Sandy by Prince Andrew to mark her official 95th birthday.