The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace draws tourists from far and wide, but on Sunday visitors were treated to a different sort of spectacle: a parade of corgis dressed up in crowns, tiaras and royal outfits.
Around 20 royal fans and their pet corgis walked their dogs outside the palace to commemorate a year since Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Corgis were the late queen’s constant companions, with Elizabeth owning around 30 throughout her life.
The dogs descended from Susan, a corgi that was given to the queen on her 18th birthday.
Corgi parade organiser Agatha Crerer-Gilbert said she would like the corgi march to take place every year in Elizabeth’s memory.
“I can’t see a better way to remember her than through her corgis, through the breed that she loved and cherished through her life,” she said.
“You know, I can’t still get used to the fact that she’s not physically around us, but she’s looking at us.
“Look, the sun is shining, I thought it would shine on us today.”
Corgi owner Aleksandr Barmin, has taken his pet Cinnamon to attend past royal-related events and said the parade was a poignant reminder.
“It’s a really hard feeling, to be honest … it’s really sad that we don’t have (the queen) among us anymore,” he said.
“But still, Her Majesty the Queen is still in our hearts.”
September 8 will be the first anniversary of the queen’s passing and Britain’s longest-reigning sovereign.
AP
