ROYAL FAVES Two corgi dogs named Percy (left) and Obi during the Corgicam event at Leadenhall Market, central London, on June 1. From June 2 to 5, several events are organized around Britain to mark Queen Elizabeth II鈥檚 70-year reign. 鈥擜FP
LONDON鈥擶earing a Union Jack bandana, Obi the corgi stares intently at the camera as he snuggles on a floral sofa with a woman in a tiara.
鈥淭he queen would approve,鈥� his owner says after the photo session, giving him a snack.
Corgis鈥攍ively brown-and-white dogs with pointed ears and short legs鈥攁re closely associated with Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this week.
At the 鈥淐orgi Cam鈥� pop-up in London鈥檚 historic Leadenhall Market, visitors can take pictures with a rotating team of dogs while dressing up in faux ermine robes, crowns and tiaras.
The 96-year-old queen has kept Pembroke Welsh Corgis since she was 18, and even appeared with her dogs in a spoof James Bond clip filmed for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
The free Corgi Cam event outstripped expectations, with some waiting for several hours to attend, says organiser Katie Raby.
鈥淓veryone associates the dog with her majesty and we wanted to be able to celebrate that,鈥� she says.
The breed experienced a rush of interest recently due to the Netflix series 鈥淭he Crown鈥�, but still remains quite rare in the United Kingdom.
鈥淢any people have never actually met a corgi,鈥� Raby says. 鈥淭here aren鈥檛 many around these days.鈥�
The event runs from midday to 6 pm, with people getting slots of about five minutes each with a corgi.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e used to doing gigs with members of the public and they鈥檙e very used to being fussed over,鈥� Raby says of the dogs.
Worth the wait
鈥淲e鈥檇 just seen this and thought we鈥檇 come down,鈥� says Ria Measom, 23, posing with her university friend, Megan Oakley, 24, in a red robe, crown and tiara.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been queuing for about two hours,鈥� Measom says. 鈥淏ut it was worth it because they brought the corgis out and we could pet them while we waited.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 good. I think the queen would like it, she should bring her corgis,鈥� she says, giggling.
鈥淲e鈥檇 never seen one (a corgi) this close before,鈥� adds Oakley. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really soft.鈥�
Another visitor, Zaida Flores, has brought along her parents who are visiting from Ecuador, and they sit together with two of the dogs.
Flores, 31, wears a tiara on her long, green-tinted hair.
鈥淲e like dogs, we鈥檙e dog lovers so it was a really nice experience,鈥� she says.
鈥楻are breed鈥�
Emma Warren-Brown, a dog expert, is watching the sessions and checking the animals are happy and healthy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so nice to see the public鈥檚 reaction to corgis because actually you don鈥檛 see many of them around,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey are what we would call a rare breed.鈥欌��
We鈥檝e really got to hope that their popularity surges. I鈥檇 hate to see them die out, because as a breed, that鈥檚 what would happen. And of course they are synonymous with the queen,鈥� she adds.
The queen stopped raising corgis in her 90s but kept two 鈥渄orgis鈥� 鈥� dachshund and corgi crosses 鈥� to keep her company in her final years.
One, Vulcan, died in 2020. The other, Candy, was in March 2021 joined by two new corgi puppies 鈥� Muick and Sandy 鈥� during the coronavirus lockdown.