Elizabeth: The Corgi Queen!

Queen Elizabeth II may be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee after a 60-year reign, but she’s been queen of the Corgis for even longer. The 86-year-old monarch first fell in love with the Welsh Corgi breed as a child.

The Queen’s father, King George VI, first brought home a Corgi named Dookie in 1933, when Elizabeth was 7 years old. Dookie was “a born sentimentalist,” according to the official website of the British Monarchy.

The Queen currently has six dogs: three Corgis named Monty, Willow and Holly, and three Dorgis (Corgi-dachshund mixes) named Cider, Candy and Vulcan.

Her Majesty has so long been associated with her beloved dogs that when the Today show parodied the royal wedding of and for Halloween, the Queen, played by Meredith Vieira, brought her Corgis with her.

While is a fan of dogs, he isn’t so keen on the Queen’s barking crew. “I don’t know how she copes with it, but her private life with her dogs and her riding and her walking, it’s very important to her,” he said.

Wherever she goes, the Corgis follow. During a 2010 tour of Winnipeg, Canada, the Queen greets a few furry members of her public.

Just two mutual admirers showing signs of affection for the other. A Corgi named Spencer reaches out for a pet from the Queen during a 2010 visit to Welshpool, Wales.

The Queen’s love of Corgis has even inspired a few dogs to put on crowns and act like royalty for a day. This stately pooch sits for a portrait at New York City’s 20th Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in 2010.

Someday, she’ll be ready to wear the crown.

She can dream, can’t she? And Penny does, sweetly.