One of the Queen's Corgis Used to Bite Staff's Ankles, Former Royal Footman Reveals

Among other canine revelations.

Queen Elizabeth II photographing her corgis at Windsor Park in 1960 in Windsor, England
(Image credit: Photo by Anwar Hussein / Getty)

The Queen's palace life is kept under wraps, but sometimes, a current or former insider gives us a little peak behind the scenes.

The latest to do so is former royal footman Steven Kaye, who worked for the royal household for three and a half years.

Kaye spoke to Slingo about a bunch of sweet details, and revealed among many other things that there was one particular royal corgi who was not a total sweetie.

"There was one corgi called Emma that stood out. You’d be walking along the corridor and you’d always try to avoid her because she’d try and bite your ankles," Kaye said.

Honestly, classic Emma.

Kaye also gave us insight into the Queen's dogs' daily routine—and of course, it's fancier than yours.

"We used to feed the dogs in the morning. They have their own dog room at Buckingham Palace," Kaye continued.

"It’s quite regal—a great big dark wooden glossy door with a gold handle and beautifully polished floor with all these dog beds all over the place.

"We would put the food out, most of them had special dietary requirements, so we’d have to remember who had what and they all had a silver dog bowl with their name engraved on it. The Queen would feed them herself at three in the afternoon."

It's hardly surprising that the Queen is a doting dog mom, given her lifelong love for the furry creatures.

Kaye added, "We’d literally be walking the dogs and you’d turn around, the Queen would be there with her headscarf on and she’d be like, 'Oh, I’ll take over now.' We were relieved of our duties and off she went."

Lovely!

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.