Susan (20 February 1944 – 26 January 1959) was a Pembroke Corgi dog owned by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

that was given to her on her eighteenth birthday. Following the dog's death in 1959, the Queen personally designed a headstone for her grave at

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a est ...

. Susan was the first of a long line of Corgis and Dorgis (

Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varie ...

/Corgi crosses) owned by the Queen, all of them descended from Susan. The dogs often accompanied the Queen in her public appearances, and thus came to feature prominently in her public image.

Background

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

bought his first Pembroke Corgi in 1933 from the Rozavel Kennels in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Named Dookie, he proved popular with his daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, and so a second Corgi, Jane, was purchased. He also owned six other dogs, but it was the Corgis of whom the young Princess Elizabeth was most fond.

Royal life

For her eighteenth birthday in 1944, the King gave Princess Elizabeth a two-month-old Pembroke Corgi puppy with the registered name Hickathrift Pippa; she was called Sue, which became Susan. Princess Elizabeth did not want to be separated from Susan, so following her wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

in 1947, 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. She then accompanied the couple on their travels, including on a tour of Earl Mountbatten's Broadlands estate in a Jeep driven by Prince Philip. In early 1959, Susan caused a stir when she bit a policeman who was patrolling

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. 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. By her first mating, with Lucky Strike of the Rozavel kennel, Susan was the mother of Sugar (officially

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

' dog) and Honey, who became the Queen Mother's favourite. She was later bred with a Rozavel dog named Rebellion; the Queen kept two puppies from that litter.

Death and legacy

Following Susan's death at

on 26 January 1959, she was buried in the

pet cemetery A pet cemetery is a cemetery for pets. Although the veneration and burial of beloved pets has been practiced since ancient times, burial grounds reserved specifically for animals were not common until the late 19th century. History Many hum ...

that

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

had founded there. The Queen drew up plans for a gravestone, sending a sketch, along with an initial inscription, to Robert Marrington, who dealt with the works on the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

. The initial inscription on the gravestone was to read "Susan / died 26 Jan 1959 / for 15 years the faithful companion of the Queen." 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. The sketches were to be sold at auction in 2004, but the Royal Household stepped in and prevented the sale. Her descendants Sugar, Heather and Pharos were later buried near her. Susan was the progenitor of the Queen's line of Corgis and Dorgis. In 2009, the Queen decided to stop breeding her dogs following the deaths of two favourites to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. During the course of her life, the Queen owned more than thirty of Susan's descendants; Holly and Willow, the latest of the Queen's dogs, were probably the fourteenth generation descended from her. The queen did not have any full-bred corgis after Willow died in April 2018. One of two remaining corgis, Vulcan, died in 2020, leaving one, Candy, still living as of December 2020. Candy was joined by another corgi pup named Fergus and a corgi pup named Muick in 2021.

References

{{Elizabeth II Individual dogs in politics 1944 animal births 1959 animal deaths Pets of British royalty Elizabeth II Individual dogs in the United Kingdom

Background

Royal life

Death and legacy

See also

References