The Queen is said to be devastated by the death of her puppy, Fergus, who is said to have died at the weekend, at only five months of age. Photo / Getty Images
An adorable Dorgi puppy named Fergus, who was gifted to the Queen by Prince Andrew to keep her company while her late husband Prince Philip was in hospital, has died.
According to royal sources, Fergus, who was around five-months old, died at the weekend, leaving Her Majesty "devastated".
The death of Fergus comes within two months of the Queen losing her husband of 70 years, Prince Philip.
At this stage it is not known how Fergus died.
While Prince Philip was in hospital recovering from heart surgery the Queen was gifted two puppies by her son, Prince Andrew. Fergus, a Dachshund and a Welsh Corgi mix was named in honour of the Queen's maternal uncle Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who died in France during World War I. The Queen's second new puppy, a corgi, was named Muick (pronounced Mick) after Lock Muick, a lake in Scotland.
Sources close to the Queen later revealed that both puppies were bought by Prince Andrew, in an effort to cheer up his mother during her husband's illness.
A source told UK's The Sun: "The Queen is absolutely devastated.
"The puppies were brought in to cheer her up during a very difficult period.
"Everyone concerned is upset as this comes so soon after she lost her husband."
The Queen has long been associated with her beloved corgi dogs. She has owned 30 during her reign. Her first corgi, named Susan, was gifted to her by her parents, on her 18th birthday in 1944. Almost all of the Queen's subsequent corgis were direct descendents of Susan - the only exception being Muick and the late Fergus.
No stranger to losing a dog, Her Majesty said goodbye to Vulcan, another dachshund-corgi cross, before Christmas last year, Willow in 2018 who was suffering from cancer and the famous Monty, who had previously belonged to the Queen Mother passed away in 2021, at age 13.
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