Queen Elizabeth Had an Unconventional Way to Get Her ‘Temperamental’ Corgis to Be Quiet, Royal Author Says

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Elizabeth smiles radiantly during a picture-taking session in the salon at Sandringham House as her pet dog looks up at her.Photo:Bettmann / Getty

Bettmann / Getty

It’s no secret thatQueen Elizabethloved her corgis — but now, in a new book, we learn her trick for getting her dogs to quiet down.

In his new bookQ: A Voyage Around the Queen, author Craig Brown speaks to the late monarch’s relationship with her corgis and dorgis — a Dachshund/Corgi mix the Queen also preferred. Unfortunately, her method of getting the pups to — in the book’s words — “shut up” is not a trick accessible to most: she employed the use of bagpipes to get her canine bunch to settle down.

“Coincidentally, the way to scare off a belligerent corgi is the same as for a belligerent human being: a blast from the bagpipes,” Brown wrote. “Happily, the Queen always kept a set of bagpipes at hand.”

Queen Elizabeth with two of her corgis on the grounds of Windsor Castle.Tim Graham Photo Library /Getty

Tim Graham Photo Library /Getty

Her late Majesty also kept a bagpipe player, Jim Motherwell, on hand in the 1990s, and in Brown’s book he quoted the musician speaking to fellow royal biographer Penny Junor as saying that “the pitch of the pipes seem to hurt most dogs’ ears.”

As the bagpipes play, “most corgis stop whatever they are doing and slink away, as though in pain,” Motherwell continued.

Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle with one of her corgis on Sept. 29, 1952.Bettmann/Getty

Bettmann/Getty

That said, the unpredictable temperament of Queen Elizabeth’s dogs actually offered the monarch a sense of comfort, as they were “rebellious in a way that Queen Elizabeth II could never be,” according to Brown. “Their clamor was her refuge, their indifference her comfort.”

Queen Elizabeth was famous throughout her life for her love of animals, specifically dogs and horses. She received her first corgi, Susan, as an 18th birthday gift, and her beloved Susan started a long line of corgis and dorgis that the Queen owned throughout her life — 14 generations, to be exact.

Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Queen Elizabeth (with corgi Sugar asleep at her feet) in the gardens below the East Terrace on the South Front of Windsor Castle in June 1959.Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty

“A lot of people wonder why she chose the corgi breed,” Caroline Perry, author ofThe Corgi and the Queen, previously told PEOPLE. “People who have corgis will tell you — they’re such amazing dogs, but not easy dogs. They’re very spirited — some of her corgis did get into scrapes; Susan did get in trouble a couple of times. Even for a very experienced dog handler like the Queen, corgis are not for novice dog owners. The fact that she loved them so much, I think it speaks to the fact that she wasn’t able to express her emotions and feelings.”

Members of the Royal Household stand with the Queen’s royal Corgis, Muick and Sandy as they await the wait for the funeral cortege on Sept. 19, 2022 in Windsor, England.Justin Setterfield/Getty

Justin Setterfield/Getty

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source: people.com