Human Interest Animals Celebrity Pets Queen Elizabeth Unexpectedly Gets Two New Corgis to Keep Her Company at Windsor Castle It was thought that the monarch, 94, didn't want to get any new dogs By Simon Perry Simon Perry Simon Perry is a writer and correspondent at PEOPLE. He has more than 25 years’ experience at PEOPLE covering the royals, human interest and celebrity. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 5, 2021 09:32AM EST Queen Elizabeth at last year's parade. Photo: Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Queen Elizabeth is surrounded by corgis once again! The Queen, 94, has two new corgi pups, bringing her some much-needed quarantine companionship as husband Prince Philip, 99, is in the hospital and the royal family braces itself for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday. The dogs are a welcome – and lively – addition for the Queen, as she strolls the grounds of Windsor Castle, where she has been living alongside a small, tight-knit number of staffers during the coronavirus pandemic. The Queen has owned corgis and dorgis (a cross with a dachshund) all her adult life, but was down to her last one, Candy, following the death of another dorgi, Vulcan, late last year. It was thought that she didn't want to have any more dogs – in part because it risked her tripping over one of the pets and also because she didn't want to leave any young dogs behind. Queen Elizabeth and her dogs. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images News of the new pets – first reported in The Sun on Friday – came as Philip recovers from his heart operation at St. Bartholomew's hospital in London. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Queen Elizabeth and her dogs. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images The Queen is well known for her love of corgis, but her last dog of that particular breed, Whisper, died in 2018. She had inherited Whisper in 2016 from Bill Fenwick, a former gamekeeper at Sandringham, after Fenwick's death. His late wife, Nancy, used to look after the dogs when the Queen was traveling. For more on the Queen's love of corgis, get the premiere issue of PEOPLE Royals! Subscribe at peopleroyals.com/launch One of her most famous dogs, Monty, starred in the short film that played during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games when the monarch joined James Bond star Daniel Craig for a memorable sketch.