--- description: In honor of her 90th birthday, Queen Elizabeth posed for the cover of Vanity Fair with her four corgi dogs. title: Queen Elizabeth's Corgis Are the Real Stars of Her Vanity Fair Cover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet the Real Stars of Queen Elizabeth II's _Vanity Fair_ Cover — Her Four Corgis  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 31, 2016 4:28 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 31, 2016 4:28 PM CUT At the seasoned age of 90, [Queen Elizabeth II](http://time.com/4297754/queen-elizabeth-ii-surprising-facts/ "undefined") has landed her [second _Vanity Fair_ cover](http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/05/queen-elizabeth-exclusive-cover-annie-leibovitz "undefined") — but this time, she’s sharing the honor with her four scene-stealing dogs. Holly and Willow are a part of the [Queen’s legendary corgi “dynasty,”](http://time.com/4270505/app-dog-bark-borrow/ "undefined") while Vulcan and Candy are dorgis, a crossbreed that came about when one of the Queen’s corgis mated with a dachshund that belonged to her sister, Princess Margaret. The Queen requested that her canine companions be a part of the series of portraits shot for the magazine’s summer issue, which was lensed by [iconic fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,3335573001%5F1862545,00.html "undefined"). Leibovitz told the magazine that the Queen was very involved with the creation of the images. “The most moving, important thing about this shoot is that these were all her ideas,” Leibovitz said. “She wanted to be photographed with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; her daughter, Anne, the Princess Royal; and her corgis.” Queen Elizabeth’s decision to pose with her corgis should come as no surprise; according to [_Vanity Fair_](http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/05/queen-elizabeth-corgis "undefined"), [she’s kept corgis for nearly eight decades](http://time.com/4024855/queen-elizabeth-longest-monarch/ "undefined"), which predates her relationship with her husband, Prince Phillip by nearly a decade. The royal family got their first corgi in 1933 when she was eight; the Queen has always had one since then. See the Queen and her corgis below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4352389/queen-elizabeth-vanity-fair-cover-corgis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4352389/queen-elizabeth-vanity-fair-cover-corgis/"},"headline":"Meet the Real Stars of Queen Elizabeth II's Vanity Fair Cover — Her Four Corgis","datePublished":"2016-05-31T16:28:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:32:49.647Z","description":"The images are shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz","url":"https://time.com/4352389/queen-elizabeth-vanity-fair-cover-corgis/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Royal Family","royals","queen elizabeth"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4352389/queen-elizabeth-vanity-fair-cover-corgis/","name":"Meet the Real Stars of Queen Elizabeth II's Vanity Fair Cover — Her Four Corgis"}}]}] ```