T he British royal family established themselves as pug enthusiasts long before Elizabeth II received her first corgi as an 18th birthday present in 1944. It is understood that the modern breed’s ancestors originated in ancient China, with the line🎃age traveling along trade routes to 16th-century Europe, where it found favor at royal courts. In total, Queen Victoria owned nearly 40 pugs.

When they moved to their home in the Bois de Boulogne on the outskirts of Paris in📖 1953, following Edward VIII’s abdication nearly 20 years before, the Windsors did not relinquish the tradition—as evident at the 1997 sale of its collections. The over 3,000 lots included many dog-themed accessories, from paperweights to Meissen figurines, alongside silver bowls and collars.

The couple owned 11 pugs in total, and the duchess’s bedroom was dotted with canine curios. A sofa,🍰 upholstered in Wallis blue, hosted a phalanx of pug-shaped cushions. On the bed laid a pillow depicting English, one of her favorite dogs. Offered i🅷n 1997 with an estimate of $600-$800, the pillow sold again at Sotheby’s in 2023 for $3,810. The mania continues.