When Queen Elizabeth's Beloved First Corgi Susan Was Secretly Involved in Her Wedding

Queen Elizabeth II famously said, "My corgis are family," throughout her reign, the Queen owned over thirty dogs, all of which were descended from Susan, the first dog she was given as a gift when she turned eighteen. According to Country Living, not wanting any of her beloved corgis to be left behind after she passed away, it is reported that she opted to cease breeding them in 2015. In 1947, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip held a lavish wedding, and Susan, the queen's first corgi, was involved 'secretly'. The thousands of people gathered to wave had no idea that Susan, had been hidden beneath a rug with a hot water bottle to keep warm while the newly wedded royal couple traveled in a carriage to their honeymoon.

"That was such a lovely detail, that she wanted to have her best friend by her side on the biggest day of her life," Caroline Perry, author of The Corgi and the Queen said, "You can kind of see from Elizabeth's face — she was beaming." A few days after the wedding, the Pembroke Welsh corgi was pictured playing outside with the newlyweds, as she had joined the couple on their honeymoon. Elizabeth became Queen at the age of 25 as Susan remained her steady companion during World War II and the passing of King George VI.

"A lot of people wonder why she chose the corgi breed," Perry shared with People. "People who have corgis will tell you — they're such amazing dogs, but not easy dogs. They're very spirited — some of her corgis did get into scrapes; Susan did get in trouble a couple of times. Even for a very experienced dog handler like the Queen, corgis are not for novice dog owners. The fact that she loved them so much, I think it speaks to the fact that she wasn't able to express her emotions and feelings."

"She really used her dogs as an expression of herself. She couldn't choose her life, but she could choose her companions," Perry continued. "The fact that these corgis are so spirited, so lively and so mischievous, I think in some way that was her way of expressing how she felt inside but wasn't able to convey. She was so prim and proper and never put a foot wrong, did she? Yet these naughty dogs are doing all kinds of things that maybe she wished she could do."

Queen Elizabeth "had overseen almost all aspects of her funeral before she passed, so she must have wanted the dogs to have been there at that exact moment," Perry said while talking about the late queen's wish.

Prince William met with mourners at Westminster during the funeral and according to Today, when asked about the two Pembroke Welsh Corgis named Sandy and Muick, he told a woman attendee, "They’ll be looked after very well. Spoiled rotten, I’m sure."