A great deal of people felt sorrow upon Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in 2022. She was adored by the public and the longest-reigning monarch in British history, having ruled for 70 years.
The late queen is now being honored with a monument that was recently unveiled, honoring her affection for her pet corgis!
The Queen’s new statue, together with her dogs
On Sunday, a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth was unveiled in observance of the monarch’s 98th birthday.
In Oakham, England, the sculpture was made by artist Hywel Pratley and is situated close to the Oakham Library. It is Queen Elizabeth’s first ever permanent memorial.
Rutland City Council said that hundreds attended the unveiling. There was music from local school bands and bagpipers.
The most priceless feature of this new memorial is that the queen’s cherished Corgis pet is also depicted, immortalized in bronze by the monarch’s feet:
The city authority claims that local schoolchildren created the designs for the Corgi monuments.
In contrast to the many stern and imposing monuments of queens like Queen Victoria, Pratley stated he wanted the statue to portray the idea of Queen Elizabeth as “an almost motherly figure,” according to the New York Times.
During the unveiling, local dignitary Sarah Furness remarked, “What most of us remember about Queen Elizabeth is her warmth.” “We demonstrate Queen Elizabeth’s humanity by showcasing her affection for dogs.”
The statue’s creator claims that he intended it to be hospitable to onlookers. Pratley said, “We designed it with a bench you can sit on.” “And there’s a corgi you can pet, and I do believe that this will eventually become a selfie-encouraging statue.”
The Times reports that a number of Corgi owners brought their dogs to the unveiling, indicating that a large number of people have already visited the statue.
The history of Queen Elizabeth’s Corgis pet
For many years, the Queen’s corgis were an iconic aspect of her life and a solace during tough political and personal times. Fans all throughout the world were likewise pleased by the cute pets.
The first Corgi was acquired by the royal family in 1933 when Dookie, a dog owned by Elizabeth’s father and predecessor George VI (who was then the Duke of York), was brought home.
Dookie was reportedly extremely cantankerous, yet Elizabeth and him appeared to have a unique relationship.
Then, on her eighteenth birthday, the Queen received a Pembroke Welsh corgi of her own, named Susan.
Susan reportedly slipped under a rug in the royal carriage to disrupt the wedding of the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, according to the BBC.
1959 saw Susan’s death at the age of almost fifteen. Her epitaph referred to her as “the faithful companion of the Queen,” and she was laid to rest at the royal estate of Sandringham House.
The Queen stated, “I had always feared losing her, but I am ever so thankful that her suffering was so mercifully brief.”
But Susan left quite the legacy; during the ensuing few decades, the Queen accumulated over thirty corgis, all descended from her original canine companion.
The Queen always had at least one corgi, and often had several at once, from 1933 until 2018. She traveled with the dogs in tow, and they resided in a designated “Corgi room” at Buckingham Palace with wicker beds. It is said that the Queen took care of them personally and baked them biscuits over the holiday season.
These canines undoubtedly received royal treatment and grew to represent the Queen throughout her life.
While Elizabeth valued the dogs greatly, Prince Philip apparently didn’t feel the same way. Like many others, she took great solace from the dogs, who served as a link to the simpler times in her early years due to their relationship with her late father and her upbringing.
According to Penny Junor, a royal biographer, “her corgis are hugely important to her.” Over time, they have become more intimate with her than any human has ever been. She has never been let down by the incredibly affectionate and devoted corgis.
It also makes sense that the Queen, who represents both Britain and the United Kingdom, would have a strong bond with a quintessential British dog. Wales, a member of the UK and a neighbor of England, is where corgis first originated. When corgis were adopted as royal dogs, the breed was rare in England; yet, the Queen had a major role in the globalization of the breed.
The Queen owned several “dorgis,” or corgis bred with daschshunds, in addition to purebred Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
When the corgis and dorgis appeared alongside Queen Elizabeth on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2016, they became well-known worldwide because to Annie Leibovitz’s photography. At the time, the dogs were Candy, Vulcan, Willow, and Holly.
A notable aspect of Queen Elizabeth’s reign and a significant aspect of her life were her corgis. Their inclusion in this first memorial statue of her seems so fitting.
Please tell this tale!
An Air Vent Cover in the Bathroom Fell Off — I Tried to Fix It Without Waiting for My Husband, but Discovered His Secret Instead
When Ruth’s bathroom vent cover falls off, she thinks it’s a quick fix — until her husband’s panicked text warns her to stay away. Suspicious and unable to resist, she peers inside. What she finds shatters her trust and sets the stage for a shocking revelation.
A week ago, I nearly divorced the love of my life. It all started with an air vent cover in our bathroom, and the strange items my husband had hidden behind it.
A man glancing over his shoulder suspiciously while entering a bathroom | Source: Midjourney
Roger was out of town helping his mom recover from surgery.
I was just having a relaxing Saturday afternoon, lounging on the couch in my comfy pants. I was scrolling through my phone and thinking about ordering takeout when I heard this weird clatter from the bathroom.
When I went to check it out, I discovered the air vent cover had fallen right off the wall. Typical, right? The one weekend my handy husband is away, something breaks.
A woman standing in a bathroom holding an air vent cover | Source: Midjourney
I figured I could handle a simple repair job myself. I mean, how hard could it be to screw a vent cover back on? So I texted Roger to ask which tools I’d need.
What happened next still gives me chills when I think about it.
His response came back almost instantly: “NO! Don’t you dare touch that vent or look inside it. Never.”
I stared at my phone, reading the message over and over, my heart starting to race.
A woman staring at her phone with a concerned frown | Source: Midjourney
Let me tell you something about my husband: in our ten years of marriage, Roger had never spoken to me like that. Not once.
He was always gentle, always patient, even when I accidentally shrunk his favorite sweater in the dryer or backed into his car in the driveway. This forceful tone set off all kinds of alarm bells in my head.
What could possibly be in that vent that would make him react this way?
A woman staring at her phone in shock | Source: Midjourney
“Roger, what’s going on?” I texted back, my hands shaking slightly.
I kept thinking about all those true crime podcasts I listen to while cleaning the house. You know them.
Those little dots that show when someone is typing popped up. I watched them for what seemed like the longest time, but when he replied, the message was unexpectedly short.
“Just leave it alone until I get home, okay? Please?”
A woman glancing to one side while frowning | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done? Because I did not know what to make of this situation. I paced around the house, trying to distract myself with TV shows and books, but my eyes kept drifting toward the bathroom door.
That vent was like a black hole, pulling at my attention until I couldn’t think about anything else.
After an hour of internal debate (and maybe a glass of wine for courage), I couldn’t take it anymore.
A woman with a determined look on her face | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed my phone and walked to the bathroom, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
You guys, I wish I could tell you I was just being paranoid. I really do. But what I found… well, let’s just say my imagination hadn’t gone far enough.
Using my phone’s flashlight, I peered inside the vent. What I saw made my blood run cold: a small bag of white powder, a pair of latex gloves, and, the most shocking item of all, a knife.
A woman staring ahead with a shocked look | Source: Midjourney
I stumbled backward, nearly dropping my phone, my mind immediately jumping from one shocking conclusion to the next.
“Oh God, oh God,” I whispered to myself, sliding down to sit on the bathroom floor.
You know that feeling when your whole world tilts sideways and everything you thought you knew suddenly seems like a lie? That’s where I was at that moment.
My mind raced through possibilities, each worse than the last. Was Roger involved in something illegal? Dangerous? Had I been living with a stranger all these years?
A woman with one hand pressed against her cheek | Source: Midjourney
I spent the next few hours in a daze, questioning everything I thought I knew about my marriage.
The man who brought me coffee in bed every Sunday morning. The guy who cried during dog food commercials. The same person who once spent three hours helping our elderly neighbor search for her lost cat in the rain. How could he be involved in something sinister?
Here’s where things get really intense.
A worried woman staring ahead | Source: Midjourney
After careful consideration, I decided against calling the police. I needed answers first. I drove to my lawyer’s office and had her draw up divorce papers.
Real talk: I’ve never felt more scared and alone than I did sitting in that sterile office, watching her print out those documents.
But if Roger couldn’t explain this satisfactorily (and let’s be honest, what reasonable excuse could possibly explain THE KNIFE in our air vent), I needed to be prepared.
A woman seated at a desk in a lawyer’s office | Source: Midjourney
When he finally walked through the door that evening, I was standing in the living room, divorce papers clutched in my trembling hands. He immediately noticed something was wrong and rushed over to me, his face full of concern.
Looking back now, I should have seen the genuine worry in his eyes, but at the moment, I was too wrapped up in my own fears.
“What’s wrong, Ruth? Why are you upset?” he asked, reaching for my hands.
A man looking at someone with concern | Source: Midjourney
I threw the papers onto the coffee table.
“Don’t play dumb, Roger. I found something in the air vent. What the heck is all that stuff? The knife? The powder? The gloves?” My voice cracked on the last word, and I hated how vulnerable I sounded.
His face went through a series of emotions: shock, understanding, and then… was that relief? He ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit I’d always found endearing. Now it just made me more anxious.
A man running his hands through his hair | Source: Midjourney
“I know this looks bad. I really do, but it’s not what you think,” he said, his voice shaking. “I never meant for you to find out like this. It’s… it’s for your birthday.”
“What?” I blinked hard, certain I’d misheard him. “My birthday? What does that have to do with a knife, gloves, and powder in our air vent?”
He sighed deeply. “I’ve been planning something for you. Something special. I didn’t want you to know yet, but now you’ve found it, so I have no choice but to tell you the truth.”
A man with a serious look on his face | Source: Midjourney
He gently squeezed my hands as he continued. “I rented a part of the neighbor’s garden to grow 101 roses for your birthday.”
“You what?” I interrupted, completely thrown off guard.
Of all the scenarios I’d imagined (and believe me, I’d imagined some dark ones), this hadn’t even made the list.
“I knew it would be too expensive to buy that many flowers, especially after the expenses with my mom’s surgery. So, I decided to grow them myself.”
A man glancing to one side | Source: Midjourney
“The knife is for pruning,” he explained, “the gloves for handling the plants, and the powder is a special fertilizer I’ve been using to make sure they grow just right. I’ve been watching YouTube videos for months trying to learn how to do this properly.”
I stood there, mouth hanging open as relief and embarrassment washed over me in equal measure.
All those horrible scenarios I’d imagined, and the truth was that my husband was secretly growing me roses?
A woman staring in surprise | Source: Midjourney
“I hid everything in the vent because it’s the one place you never look,” he explained, a small smile playing on his lips. “And I’ve been sneaking over to the neighbor to care for them during my evening walks. I wanted it to be a surprise. You always said you loved the scene in ‘101 Dalmatians’ where he gives her all those flowers, so I thought…”
I burst into tears, caught between laughing and crying. “I thought you were doing something criminal! I was ready to divorce you!”
An emotional woman speaking to someone | Source: Midjourney
The absurdity of the situation hit me all at once, and I couldn’t stop the hysterical giggles that bubbled up.
Roger pulled me into his arms, and I could feel him shaking with suppressed laughter.
“Only you would jump to that conclusion, Ruth. Only you.”
“Well, what was I supposed to think?” I mumbled into his chest. “You were being so weird about it! And who hides things in an air vent? That’s, like, serial killer behavior!”
We spent the rest of the evening talking about how stress and poor communication had led to this ridiculous situation.
A couple having a conversation | Source: Midjourney
As we lay in bed that night, I turned to him and said, “You know, you could have just hidden all that stuff in the garage. We have about fifty boxes you never open out there, and I never scratch around in them either.”
“Yeah,” he chuckled, “but then you would’ve wondered why I was sneaking into the garage!”
I threw a pillow at his head, but he was right.
A woman grabbing a pillow | Source: Pexels
“So, when can I see all these roses you’ve been tenderly caring for?” I asked.
“On your birthday! You may have uncovered my secret, but that doesn’t mean you get a sneak peek.”
I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face, looking forward to my birthday with a level of anticipation I hadn’t felt since I was a child.
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