Susan (dog)
| Species | Dog |
|---|---|
| Breed | Pembroke Corgi |
| Sex | Female |
| Born | 20 February 1944 |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Sandringham House, Norfolk |
| Resting place | Sandringham House, Norfolk Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Owner | Queen Elizabeth II |
Susan (20 February 1944 – 26 January 1959) was a Pembroke Corgi dog owned by Queen Elizabeth II that was given to her on her eighteenth birthday. Following the dog's death in 1959, the Queen personally designed a memorial to be placed at Sandringham House. Susan was the first of a long line of Corgis and Dorgis (Dachshund/Corgi crosses) owned by the Queen, all of them descended from Susan. The dogs have often accompanied the Queen in her public appearances, and have thus come to feature prominently in her public image.
Background
King George VI bought his first Pembroke Corgi in 1933 from the Rozavel Kennels in Surrey.[1] Named Dookie, he proved popular with his daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and so a second Corgi, Jane, was purchased.[2] He also owned six other dogs, but it was the Corgis that the young Princess Elizabeth was most fond of.[3]
Royal life
For her eighteenth birthday in 1944, the King gave a Pembroke Corgi named Susan to Princess Elizabeth.[2]
Princess Elizabeth did not want to be separated from Susan, so following her wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey, Susan was hidden under rugs as the Princess and the Duke of Edinburgh travelled through London in an open carriage on the way to their honeymoon in Hampshire.[4] While on honeymoon, Susan accompanied the couple on their travels, including on a tour of Earl Mountbatten's Broadlands estate in a Jeep driven by Prince Phillip.[5]
In early 1959, Susan caused a stir when she bit a policeman who was patrolling Buckingham Palace. It was the fourth time she had bitten someone at the palace. On the previous occasions it had been a sentry, a detective and the royal clock winder.[6]
Death and legacy
Following Susan's death on 26 January 1959, the Queen drew up plans for a memorial for her dog. She made a sketch of a gravestone, and sent this along with an initial inscription to Robert Marrington, who dealt with the works on the Crown Estate.[4] The initial inscription on the gravestone was to read "Susan died 26 Jan 1959 for 15 years the faithful companion of the Queen."[4] However after some further research by the Queen revealed Susan's date of birth, she suggested on 4 February 1959 that the date of birth be inserted into the inscription. On 18 February she sent through a further revision to the inscription, requesting that it be changed to "almost 15 years" for the sake of accuracy.[4] The sketches were to be sold at auction in 2004, but the Royal Household stepped in and prevented the sale.[7] Susan was buried at Sandringham House.[8] Her descendants Sugar, Heather and Pharos joined her there in a small pet cemetery.[3]
Susan was the progenitor of the Queen's line of Corgis and Dorgis and she has bred over ten generations of Susan's descendants.[4] In 2009, the Queen decided to stop breeding her dogs following the deaths of two favourites to cancer.[9] As of 2011, the Queen still has six of Susan's descendants, three Corgis and three Dorgis.[2] During the course of her life, the Queen has owned more than thirty of Susan's descendants.[3]
See also
- Caesar (dog) – a Wire Fox Terrier owned by King Edward VII
- Dash (spaniel) – a King Charles Spaniel owned by Queen Victoria
- Queen Elizabeth's corgis
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
