The pitter-patter of little puppy feet can once more be heard echoing around the halls at Windsor Castle.

It has no doubt been a tense fortnight for Queen Elizabeth. Between the fact that her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is in hospital following an undisclosed infection and heart surgery (at the grand age of 99!) and not to mention Prince Harry and Meghan's upcoming sit-down interview with Oprah – and all the media hype around it. But at least now it seems the royal family's matriarch has something else to pay attention too – her two new corgi puppies! The Queen has always loved this breed of dogs, but sadly her last corgi, Whisper, died in 2018, and it was thought that he monarch, 94, didn't want to get any new dogs due to her advanced age. Queen Elizabeth adopted Whisper following the death of its previous owner, who used to work as a gatekeeper at the Queen's Sandringham estate. But now, according to The Sun newspaper, the Queen has been gifted two new corgi puppies as a present during lockdown, to 'keep her company' as she strolls the grounds of Windsor Castle, where she has been living alongside a small, tight-knit number of staffers during the coronavirus pandemic. A source told the newspaper: “The Queen is delighted. It’s unthinkable that the Queen wouldn’t have any corgis. “It’s like the Tower of London not having any ravens. They have only been there a couple of weeks but are said to be adorable and made the castle their home. Both are said to be bringing in a lot of noise and energy into the castle while Philip is in hospital.” It is believed the dogs were a gift and the first the Queen has owned that are not direct descendants from a corgi called Susan that she received for her 18th birthday in 1944. Buckingham Palace has yet to comment and the names and genders of the dogs are not yet known.