Queen Elizabeth’s Corgis Heartbreakingly Bid Her a Final Farewell Before the Monarch’s Burial Two Years Ago

Sandy and Muick are now in the care of Sarah Ferguson, who calls the pair “national icons” and “total joys”

Two years ago, Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest — and a poignant moment with the late monarch’s corgis made the emotional day even more so.

After her death on Sept. 8, 2022 at age 96, Her late Majesty’s funeral and committal service took place 11 days later on Sept. 19. After more than a week’s worth of moving moments preceding her funeral at Westminster Abbey that day, a touching moment as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrived at Windsor Castle stirred hearts globally — and involved her two remaining corgis, Sandy and Muick.

As the late Queen arrived at Windsor Castle, Sandy and Muick stood with aides to welcome her coffin to the grounds ahead of her committal service at St. George’s Chapel. The heart wrenching moment was especially emotional because of how much the Queen was known to love her dogs — she had over 30 corgis and dachshund-corgi mixes (known as “dorgis”) over the course of her long life.

Sandy and Muick were gifts from Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie just before the death of the Queen’s husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, in 2021. Sandy and Muick are now in the care of the Duke and Duchess of York, and a source close to Prince Andrew previously told PEOPLE that “The corgis will return to live at Royal Lodge with the Duke and Duchess. It was the Duchess who found the puppies, which were gifted to Her Majesty by the Duke.”

The source added that Ferguson previously “bonded with Her Majesty over dog-walking and riding horses and even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting.”

After 10 years of marriage, the Duke and Duchess of York divorced in 1996 but currently still live together at Royal Lodge.

Just days before the Queen’s Sept. 19 funeral, Prince William assured a mourner waiting in line to see her coffin lying in state that they shouldn’t worry about her corgis. “I saw them the other day, that got me quite sad,” William said in a video captured by Sky News. “They are going to be looked after fine.”

He added, “They are two very friendly corgis, so they’ve got a good home. They’ll be looked after very well. Spoiled rotten, I’m sure.”

The late monarch decided to stop adopting corgis in the mid-2010s because, as The Telegraph reported, she didn’t want to leave any dog behind when she died. However, Prince Andrew gifted his mother with two new puppies in March 2021, just before Prince Philip died the next month. One puppy tragically died just weeks later, and on what would have been Prince Philip’s 100th birthday that June, Prince Andrew gave his mother another puppy, bringing her corgi count to two. The then Princess Elizabeth received her first corgi when she was just 7 years old.

Ferguson previously told PEOPLE that Queen Elizabeth was her “total idol” and said that if she were to talk to her now, Ferguson would “tell her about the magnolia trees in the garden, because she loved that, and the primroses on the banks of Windsor, and the snowdrops,” she said. “She would love that her doggies were walking wherever she walked before.”

She added of taking care of Sandy and Muick, “They are national icons, so every time they run chasing a squirrel, I panic,” the Duchess of York shared. “But they’re total joys, and I always think that when they bark at nothing, and there’s no squirrels in sight, I believe it’s because the Queen is passing by.”

Sandy and Muick’s touching moment wasn’t the only emotional moment with the late monarch’s beloved animals. In addition to loving dogs, the Queen was an avid horsewoman, and her beloved fell pony Emma — whom the Queen rode into her nineties — stood on the grounds of Windsor Castle as Her late Majesty’s coffin made its final journey to St. George’s Chapel. On display on Emma’s saddle was a headscarf that belonged to Queen Elizabeth — one she previously wore while riding Emma at Windsor Great Park in photos from 2015 obtained by the Daily Mail.

Source people.com