Cuddles with Corgis to Celebrate the Queen's Favorite Dogs

Two corgi dogs named Percy (left) and Obi (right) sit on a couch during the Corgicam event taking place at Leadenhall Market, central London, on June 1, 2022 prior to the Platinum jubilee celebrations of Britain’s Queen. AFP pic
Two corgi dogs named Percy (left) and Obi (right) sit on a couch during the Corgicam event taking place at Leadenhall Market, central London, on June 1, 2022 prior to the Platinum jubilee celebrations of Britain’s Queen. AFP pic
TT

Cuddles with Corgis to Celebrate the Queen's Favorite Dogs

Two corgi dogs named Percy (left) and Obi (right) sit on a couch during the Corgicam event taking place at Leadenhall Market, central London, on June 1, 2022 prior to the Platinum jubilee celebrations of Britain’s Queen. AFP pic
Two corgi dogs named Percy (left) and Obi (right) sit on a couch during the Corgicam event taking place at Leadenhall Market, central London, on June 1, 2022 prior to the Platinum jubilee celebrations of Britain’s Queen. AFP pic

Wearing a Union Jack bandana, Obi the corgi stares intently at the camera as he snuggles on a floral sofa with a woman in a tiara.

"The queen would approve," his owner says after the photo session, giving him a snack.

Corgis -- lively brown-and-white dogs with pointed ears and short legs -- are closely associated with Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this week.

At the "Corgi Cam" pop-up in London's historic Leadenhall Market, visitors can take pictures with a rotating team of dogs while dressing up in faux ermine robes, crowns and tiaras, AFP said.

The 96-year-old queen has kept Pembroke Welsh Corgis since she was 18, and even appeared with her dogs in a spoof James Bond clip filmed for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

The free Corgi Cam event outstripped expectations, with some waiting for several hours to attend, says organizer Katie Raby.

"Everyone associates the dog with her majesty and we wanted to be able to celebrate that," she says.

The breed experienced a rush of interest recently due to the Netflix series "The Crown", but still remains quite rare in the United Kingdom.

"Many people have never actually met a corgi," Raby says. "There aren't many around these days."

The event runs from midday to 6 pm, with people getting slots of about five minutes each with a corgi.

"They're used to doing gigs with members of the public and they're very used to being fussed over," Raby says of the dogs.

- 'Rare breed' -
"We'd just seen this and thought we'd come down," says Ria Measom, 23, posing with her university friend, Megan Oakley, 24, in a red robe, crown and tiara.

"We've been queuing for about two hours," Measom says. "But it was worth it because they brought the corgis out and we could pet them while we waited."

"It's good. I think the queen would like it, she should bring her corgis," she says, giggling.

"We'd never seen one (a corgi) this close before," adds Oakley. "They're really soft."

Another visitor, Zaida Flores, has brought along her parents who are visiting from Ecuador, and they sit together with two of the dogs.

Flores, 31, wears a tiara on her long, green-tinted hair.

"We like dogs, we're dog lovers so it was a really nice experience," she says.

Emma Warren-Brown, a dog expert, is watching the sessions and checking the animals are happy and healthy.

"It's so nice to see the public's reaction to corgis because actually you don't see many of them around," she says.

"They are what we would call a rare breed.

"We've really got to hope that their popularity surges. I'd hate to see them die out, because as a breed, that's what would happen. And of course they are synonymous with the queen."

The queen stopped raising corgis in her 90s but kept two "dorgis" -- dachshund and corgi crosses -- to keep her company in her final years.

One, Vulcan, died in 2020. The other, Candy, was in March 2021 joined by two new corgi puppies -- Muick and Sandy -- during the coronavirus lockdown.



Spain and Portugal Continue to Battle Storm Leonardo as New Storm Approaches

 A mountain landslide blocks railway tracks during heavy rains, as storm Leonardo hits parts of Spain, in Benaojan, Spain, February 6, 2026. (Reuters)
A mountain landslide blocks railway tracks during heavy rains, as storm Leonardo hits parts of Spain, in Benaojan, Spain, February 6, 2026. (Reuters)
TT

Spain and Portugal Continue to Battle Storm Leonardo as New Storm Approaches

 A mountain landslide blocks railway tracks during heavy rains, as storm Leonardo hits parts of Spain, in Benaojan, Spain, February 6, 2026. (Reuters)
A mountain landslide blocks railway tracks during heavy rains, as storm Leonardo hits parts of Spain, in Benaojan, Spain, February 6, 2026. (Reuters)

Storm Leonardo continued to batter the Iberian Peninsula on Friday, bringing floods and putting rivers at risk of bursting their banks while thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Spain and Portugal.

In southern Spain's Andalusia region, some 7,000 people have had to leave their homes due to successive storms.

Among them were around 1,500 people ordered to evacuate the mountain village of Grazalema, where Andalusia's regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno warned that aquifers were "full to the brim with water,” and at risk of collapsing.

“It's raining on already saturated ground. The land is unable to drain," Moreno said. “We urge extreme caution. This is not over.”

Spanish police said Friday they had found a body located 1,000 meters (about 0.6 miles) away from where a woman had disappeared Wednesday after she fell into a river in Malaga province while trying to rescue her dog. Police said they had not yet identified the body, but believed it belonged to the 45-year-old woman.

Another storm front, Marta, was expected to arrive Saturday, with Spain's weather agency AEMET saying it would bring even more rain and heavy winds, including to areas already drenched by Storm Leonardo.

Marta is expected to affect Portugal, too.

Of particular concern was southern Spain's Guadalquivir River, which flows through Córdoba and Seville and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean, and whose water levels have dramatically risen in recent days.

Additional rain Saturday could leave many more homes at risk in Córdoba, local authorities warned.

In Portugal, parts of Alcacer do Sal were submerged after the Sado River overflowed, forcing residents to leave the city located 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) south of Lisbon.

Alerts were issued also for regions near the Tagus River due to rising water levels.

A separate storm in late January left a trail of destruction in Portugal, killing several people, according to Portuguese authorities.


AROYA Cruises Debuts Arabian Gulf Voyages for 2026

AROYA offers a curated experience featuring culturally inspired entertainment and diverse dining options - SPA
AROYA offers a curated experience featuring culturally inspired entertainment and diverse dining options - SPA
TT

AROYA Cruises Debuts Arabian Gulf Voyages for 2026

AROYA offers a curated experience featuring culturally inspired entertainment and diverse dining options - SPA
AROYA offers a curated experience featuring culturally inspired entertainment and diverse dining options - SPA

AROYA Cruises, a subsidiary of the PIF-owned Cruise Saudi, has officially launched its inaugural season in the Arabian Gulf.

Running from February 21 to May 8, the season marks a milestone in regional tourism by blending authentic Saudi hospitality with international maritime standards, SPA reported.

AROYA offers a curated experience featuring culturally inspired entertainment and diverse dining options.

The season is designed to provide guests with a dynamic way to explore the Gulf, setting a new benchmark for luxury travel that reflects the Kingdom's heritage on a global stage.


Snowstorm Brings Much of Denmark to a Halt

A car drives in heavy snow at Store Heddinge in South Zealand, Denmark, 05 February 2026.  EPA/Mads Claus Rasmussen
A car drives in heavy snow at Store Heddinge in South Zealand, Denmark, 05 February 2026. EPA/Mads Claus Rasmussen
TT

Snowstorm Brings Much of Denmark to a Halt

A car drives in heavy snow at Store Heddinge in South Zealand, Denmark, 05 February 2026.  EPA/Mads Claus Rasmussen
A car drives in heavy snow at Store Heddinge in South Zealand, Denmark, 05 February 2026. EPA/Mads Claus Rasmussen

Denmark authorities halted public transport, closed schools and cancelled flights on Friday as heavy snowfall blanketed much of the country.

The Nordic country's meteorological institute DMI warned that heavy snow would likely continue until Friday evening in the east, where the capital Copenhagen is located.

Police said people should avoid going outdoors unless necessary and stay indoors in the capital and the surrounding region.

Copenhagen's airport cancelled flights to Paris and Berlin and warned of "delay and cancellation risks because of snowy conditions." Many schools were closed.

In the second-largest city of Aarhus, bus services were cancelled.