Queen's 13-year-old corgi Monty who appeared in Olympics Opening Ceremony dies

Monty, a 13-year-old corgi, died of old age during the summer, palace sources told the Daily Beast.

The animal died at the Scottish Balmoral Castle and will be buried in the Royal pet cemetery that Queen Victoria opened in 1887.

Monty was one of a few corgis that this summer attacked Princess Beatrice’s terrier Max but the fight wasn’t said to have contributed to Monty’s death. Max came off worst from the battle, nearly losing an ear.

The dog greeted James Bond (Daniel Craig) as he came to pick up the Queen and bring her in a helicopter to the Olympic Stadium.

An insider from the shoot has told the Daily Beast that the Queen’s dogs, which behaved ‘impeccably’ during the shoot, were much easier to deal with than movie star dogs in general.

Monty, who previously was owned by the Queen Mother, was named after American horse whisperer Monty Roberts who has given the Queen advices about dogs and horses. Roberts, 77, is said to have offered the Queen a corgi puppy as compensation, writes the Telegraph.

It is unsure when the dog died but it is said to have been during the summer, perhaps even before he and the Queen’s two other corgis, Willow and Holly, did tummy rolls with the whole world watching.

The Monarch is said to take the deaths of her pets very hard and Lady Pamela Hicks, Prince Philip’s cousin, who once wrote a note when one of the Queen’s corgis had died and got a six-page letter in return, told the Daily Beast: “A dog isn’t important, so she [the Queen] can express the really deep feelings she can’t get out otherwise.”

Watch Monty's last moment in the spotlight here as he appears about 50 seconds in the clip:

Image via Youtube.