Queen Elizabeth II beat Queen Victoria’s record as Britain’s longest reign in 2015. Victoria, her great-great-grandmother, ruled for 63 years from 1837 until 1901, and oversaw huge changes within the UK. She witnessed the industrial and cultural shift of the Victorian age and came to define the family values associated with the Firm today.
The Queen has since beaten Victoria’s record and will celebrate 69 years on the throne in February next year.
Although both women oversaw periods of great change within Britain and are renowned figures in British history, they also both have a peculiar quirk in their characters.
Journalist Michael Joseph Gross explained: “English royals since at least Queen Victoria have been devoted to their dogs.
“Victoria’s early passion for German dachshunds gave way to a mania for Scottish collies later in life.
“She repeatedly gave her collies the name of Noble, and historians distinguish among them with Roman numerals: Noble I through Noble V.”
Victoria’s childhood dog was called Dashy and was a close companion to the isolated royal who lived apart from the rest of her Hanoverian relatives.
Her pet, a King Charles spaniel, soon found companionship with Prince Albert’s greyhound, Eos, too.
READ MORE: Devastating real reason Queen stopped breeding her corgis
He wrote: “In living memory, no world leader has been as widely identified with a particular animal as Elizabeth II with her corgis.
“Symbols of friendliness, they are shrewdly deployed for publicity purposes, lending warmth to her public image.”
He also noted how it had become a tactic for the monarch to use the corgis as a way to “break the ice with strangers”.
The Queen has said: “My corgis are family.”
Even in his engagement interview, Prince Harry noted his then-fiancee Meghan Markle had been welcomed into the family by the Queen’s pets.
Speaking in 2017 with his partner, he told the BBC: “The corgis took to you [Meghan] straight away.”
He added: “I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at; this one walks in, absolutely nothing.”
The Queen established a dynasty of dogs from her first corgi, called Susan, who was given to the royal for her 18th birthday present.
However, she has tragically stopped breeding the dogs in recent years due to her age.
She reportedly has just two dorgis left – corgis bred with dachshunds – Candy and Vulcan.
