Along the Corgi trail: a royal walk in London for the Queen’s Jubilee
A new “Corgi trail” was launched in Central London to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
From Belgravia to Strand, 19 sculptures of corgis designed by contemporary artists have been placed in various gardens, stations, and hotels on a trail run by London HQ - the collective of Victoria, Victoria Westminster, Whitehall and Northbank Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
The Queen, who celebrates her 70 years on the throne this year, has owned more than 30 corgis in her life.
Honey, Susan or Willow: the 19 statues on the trail were named after the Queen’s corgis.
For those who want to discover the trail “The Queen & Her Corgis”, a digital map is available on the Victoria and Northbank BIDs websites, and paper maps are distributed at the visitor’s information kiosk outside Victoria station, as well as in the different hotels where Corgis are hosted.
At the heart of Belgravia is the first Corgi of the trail: Honey, designed by Olivia Brotheridge.
Olivia is an illustrator who designed different maps for the Victoria and Northbank BIDs.
As she designed the official map for the Corgi trail, she was also invited to paint one of the Corgis herself.
She said: “It’s been so much fun to get off the computer and paint onto a 3D statue!”
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Painted by Miya Tsuruda-Behan, this is Susan, named after the corgi the Queen received from her father for her 18th birthday.
Caroline Perry took inspiration from Elizabeth and Susan’s story to write her debut children's picture book “The Corgi and the Queen”, which will be released in January 2023.
When asked about Susan, the author said: “The little corgi was Elizabeth’s constant companion during the dark days of World War II, and the pair developed an extraordinary bond.
“Susan even accompanied Elizabeth and Prince Philip in their glass wedding coach as they rode across London, greeting the exultant crowds.
“Elizabeth didn’t want to be without her best friend on the biggest day of her life, so the dog was hidden under a rug on the carriage floor!
“Susan also joined the newlyweds on their honeymoon, and when her beloved pet died, the Queen wrote that she had ‘always dreaded losing her.’”
“Susan founded a regal dog dynasty! Fourteen generations of corgis were descended from her.”
- Caroline Perry, author of “The Corgi and the Queen”
Willow, Hannah Sykes’ Corgi, is located in Cardinal Place.
Her Corgi’s design is a nod to Elizabeth and Philip’s love story and is covered with love messages and… drawings of cabbages.
Why cabbages?
Hannah, who runs her illustration business, drew her inspiration from the fact that the Prince reportedly called his wife “Cabbage”.
SO WHERE DOES THE QUEEN’S LOVE FOR CORGIS CAME FROM?
To understand where it all began, we have to go back into the Queen's childhood.
Caroline Perry explained that after spending time with friends who had a corgi, Elizabeth, who was 7 at the time, and her sister Margaret asked their parents to have one as well.
Their father bought Dookie.
Perry said: “Another corgi, Jane, joined the royal pack not long afterwards, and a decades-long love story was born.
“Elizabeth was particularly close to the dogs, who comforted her and Margaret when their ‘normal’ existence was turned upside down after their uncle King Edward VIII’s shock abdication.”
Some sculptures on the trail were sponsored.
This is the case of the Corgi painted by Lisa Todd.
Her corgi, Muick, was sponsored by Taj Hotel St. James' Court, which hosts Lisa’s sculpture in its courtyard near Buckingham.
The artist and homeware designer had previously curated “The Lions of Windsor & Maidenhead 2019 sculpture trail” which celebrated the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth.
And Lisa is not the only one of her family to have her artwork displayed on the trail.
Indeed, her daughter Olivia and her husband Jeremy, who both have an artistic background, also rose to the challenge.
She said: “My daughter Olivia was approached to paint a corgi and we decided to make it a family affair and paint one each.”
WHO’S WHO: CORGI EDITION
Here what Caroline Perry, author of “The Corgi and the Queen”, had to say about some of the Queen’s corgis whose names have been chosen for the sculptures on the trail:
Honey
Was born a few months after Prince Charles
Willow
Can be spotted in the London Olympics' scene with the Queen and Daniel Craig
Muick
Was named after one of the Queen’s favourite beauty spots in Balmoral
Crackers
Lived with Elizabeth and Margaret in Windsor Castle during the Second World War
Emma, Rebecca Hardaker’s flowery Corgi, is located in Whitehall Gardens.
Rebecca said: “The project sounded like so much fun, it didn’t take long for me to start thinking up a design for the corgi.”
Crackers, Berengere Ducoms’ Corgi, welcomes travellers in Charing Cross station.
Its multi-coloured patches are inspired by the Queen’s colourful wardrobe.
The trail is also a chance to walk across Central London, discover new places, and see some of the capital’s most iconic locations.
Visitors can discover it until July 26.
The Corgis’ sculptures should then be auctioned off in autumn and the money raised will be donated to a local charity.
DOES THE QUEEN STILL HAVE CORGIS?
Yes!
Caroline Perry said: “In 2015 the Queen ended her breeding program [a program she established and oversaw at Windsor Castle]. Corgis are an exceptionally loyal breed, and she didn’t want any of the dogs she loved so much to outlive her.”
Willow, Susan’s last descendent, and Whisper, an adopted corgi, both died in 2018.
However, last year the Queen was given two new corgi puppies, Muick and Sandy.
SOME LAST FUN FACTS ABOUT THE QUEEN’S CORGIS
We asked Caroline Perry a few fun facts about the Queen and her corgis.
Here are some she shared:
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