Netflix’s hit series The Crown has been credited with the resurgence in popularity of the Welsh corgi, the Queen’s favourite dog. The TV show, which follows the trials and tribulations of the monarch throughout her reign, has featured the royal dogs frequently including in a scene with Jackie Kennedy in season two.
The breed was previously endangered thanks to years of unpopularity, with pugs, Dachshunds and whippets becoming more fashionable in recent years. In 2014, only 274 were registered to the Kennel Club in the UK, with the figure shooting up by 22 per cent, rising to 456 registrations in 2017.
Kennel Club representative David Dobson told The Telegraph: ‘The Crown has certainly been important in the resurgence of the corgi breed. It has increased interest in the breed. Following the transmission of the second series searches for the breed puppies on our web site went up by 22 per cent. People used the have the impression that while corgis were in the spotlight, because of the Queen, they could be seen by young people as an older person’s dog.’
The Queen has had 30 corgis during her lifetime, after her father King George VI brought home her first pet aged seven.
