The fate of the late queen’s last two beloved corgis has been a source of speculation since news broke that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson were being evicted from the sprawling Royal Lodge on Windsor Estate.

Muick and Sandy have lived with the former prince and his ex-wife at the 30-room mansion since the queen died in late 2022.

But when King Charles last week stripped Andrew of his title and evicted him from the lodge amid ongoing controversy over his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, one question was unanswered: What would happen to the corgis?

Now, in a statement provided to The Independent, Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Muick and Sandy will “remain with the family”.

It did not, however, specify which particular family member would care for them.

Following his latest humiliation, Andrew is being exiled to the royal family’s Sandringham Estate, in the east of England, while People has reported that Ferguson will “move forward independently” and live in a separate home elsewhere.

When the two corgis moved to Royal Lodge after the queen’s death, The Telegraph reported a source close to Andrew as saying the monarch and Ferguson had bonded over dog walking and riding horses.

“And even after her divorce, she [Ferguson] would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty, by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting,” they said.

The queen owned more than 30 corgis during her reign.

The queen’s love of corgis was well known, and throughout her 70-year reign she owned more than 30 corgis and dorgis (a daschund-corgi cross).

She and her sister, Princess Margaret, are said to have fallen in love with the dogs as children during a visit to the home of a nobleman who had two as pets. In 1933, their parents bought their first corgi, named Dookie, and the young princesses can be seen playing with him in old photographs.

The then Princess Elizabeth received a corgi of her own as a gift on her 18th birthday. Susan accompanied her and Prince Philip on their honeymoon and was the first of many faithful canine companions who are said to have lived a charmed life dining on steak and chicken.

According to Town & Country magazine, it was Andrew and his two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who gave Muick and a dorgi, Fergus, to the queen as puppies as a present in 2021 while Prince Philip was in hospital. After Fergus died, the queen bought Sandy to keep him company.

Sarah Ferguson gave an update on the corgis a year after the Queen’s death. Photo: Instagram

In an interview with Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly presenter Graeme Hall, Ferguson said Muick took the queen’s passing particularly badly.

A year after her death, Ferguson shared an update on Instagram, saying the late queen had entrusted her with the care of Sandy and Muick and she was “delighted to say they are thriving”.

Speaking at an event in London earlier this year, Ferguson claimed the queen communicated to her through the dogs.

“I have her dogs, I have her corgis,” she said.

“Every morning they come in and go ‘woof woof’ and all that and I’m sure it’s her talking to me. I’m sure it’s her, reminding me she’s still around.”