After the death of Elizabeth II, everyone wants a corgi: its price breaks a record in the United Kingdom

The first of Queen Elizabeth II's corgis was a puppy named

that her parents gave her in 1944, on her 18th birthday.

The then young princess fell in love with this typical Welsh herding breed to the point that, over the next six decades, she would own more than 30 of the dog

.

"My corgis are my family," Elizabeth II once said.

That is why it was usual to see them around her walking the corridors and rooms of Buckingham Palace and appearing next to her in numerous personal photographs of her and also in her official portraits.

The queen's corgis became as indivisible elements of her own personality as her pearl necklace or her handbag.

After the death of the monarch, on September 8, the price of her favorite breed has reached record prices in the United Kingdom, according to the AFP news agency.

This was confirmed by the spokesperson for Pets4Homes, an

store specializing in pets in the United Kingdom: “The prices asked by registered corgi breeders hit a record today.

In the most recent announcements, prices for some corgis break the barrier of 2,500 pounds (2,780 euros) for the first time”, said the spokesman, who states that the number of daily searches for corgis is 10 times higher than that of the last week.

More information

Queen Elizabeth II's corgis have been adopted by Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson

It is not the first time that the queen of England manages to make her favorite breed fashionable.

She already happened with

.

As reported by the Kennel Club, one of the largest purebred dog breeder organizations in the country, to the BBC, the breed had a record peak in 1944: “The breeders perceived how a dog suddenly became very popular in the world. market.

It's the

effect ," said Ciara Farrell, library and collections manager at the Kennel Club, referring to another spike in popularity for other dogs, Dalmatians, after Disney chose that dog breed for the animated film released in 1961. "You also see it in advertising," admitted Farrell, "the Andrex puppy [in Spain, known as Scottex], was a master stroke of

that has been going on for half a century”.

Elizabeth II arriving at King's Cross Station, London, on October 15, 1969 with her four corgis after a holiday at Balmoral Castle.

She used to travel with her pets, so images of Queen II surrounded by corgis were common. STF (AFP)

Interest in the corgi breed peaked in the 1960s, with nearly 9,000 puppy registrations, as newspapers and television portrayed the family made up of the young queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, their children and their corgis.

In the late 1990s, interest began to wane.

In 2014, corgis entered the Vulnerable Native Breed category for the Kennel Club, with just 274 new registrations.

However, in 2017, new puppy registrations increased again by 17%, reaching a peak of 47% a year later, in 2018. What happened in those years is that Netflix had released

, the successful fiction based on the life of Elizabeth II, which strengthened and refreshed the image of the monarch as an icon for audiovisuals, showing her as a queen, but also as a daughter, sister, wife, mother and, of course, owner of many corgis .

The last two corgis to keep the queen company are named

and

.

For a few years, Elizabeth II had stopped breeding dogs.

She knew her health was failing, and she didn't want to leave two young dogs behind when she died.

and

were a gift from Prince Andrew after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, in April 2021. His son intended to encourage his mother in this way.

The truth is that she got it.

Angela Kelly, Elizabeth II's dressmaker, then told

"I was worried they would get under the Queen's feet, but they turned out to be a godsend.

They are beautiful and a lot of fun and the queen often goes for long walks with them in Home Park."

and

were in the queen's room at Balmoral Castle when she died, sources close to the palace told the British newspaper

.

They also had a final role on September 19, when Prince Andrew appeared with the two corgis outside Windsor Castle in England, where they patiently waited for the hearse to arrive to say goodbye to their owner.

Outside, many Britons had decided to bring their own corgis to say goodbye to the queen.

Now it's back to Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who take care of

and

.