The Queen has had to say goodbye to one of her longtime companions, her beloved pet corgi Holly, who has sadly passed away aged 13. The corgi will probably be familiar to royal fans who would recognize her from the 2012 London Olympics opening video.

    The dog was suffering from old age and was put down at Balmoral after suffering from an illness, leaving Her Majesty three surviving pet dogs, Willow and two corgi-dachshund crosses, Vulcan and Candy.

    According to a spokesperson for Buckingham palace, the Queen was deeply upset by Holly's passing and she doesn't like seeing her dogs suffer. Holly had attained a very good age. She gets more unsettled if they suffer and she knows thatputting a dog downis often the kindest solution. She was devoted to Holly and wherever the Queen was, the dog was never far behind.

    Holly was included in one of the portraits for the Queen's 90th birthday, along with her other three pet dogs. Although the Queen usually has several pet corgis, it was recently revealed that she is keen not to breed（繁殖）any more of the dogs. Monty Roberts, a horse trainer who has previously given advice to Queen, told theDaily Mail, “She wouldn't leave any young dogs behind if she died. She wanted to put an end to it. Her Majesty had previously named one of her dogs after her friend, but the dog died in 2012. Dogs love for less time than human beings and we know we're going to lose them—but they are part of the Queen's family. She'll be quite upset.”