Queen Elizabeth's New Puppy, a Gift During Prince Philip's Last Days, Dies: 'It's All Very Sad'

Queen Elizabeth has suffered more heartache — Fergus, one of two new puppies given to her while her late husband Prince Philip was in the hospital, has died.

"It's all very sad," a royal insider tells PEOPLE of the news of the death of Fergus.

Fergus is thought to have been a dorgi (a corgi crossed with a dachshund), and was named after the Queen's late uncle Fergus Bowes-Lyon, who died during World War I in 1915. The other dog is named was Muick after a favorite spot near Balmoral Castle.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the story that first appeared in The Sun on Wednesday. The newspaper said the Queen, 95, was "devastated" by Fergus's death.

The puppies joined the Queen's last remaining corgi, Candy, following the death of another dorgi, Vulcan, late last year and had been a welcome – and lively – addition for the monarch. She exercised them by walking on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where she has been living alongside a small, tight-knit number of staffers during the coronavirus pandemic. And she was seen taking the dogs for strolls around Frogmore House in Windsor in the immediate aftermath of Philip's death, at the age 99, and funeral in April.

The Queen has owned corgis and dorgis all her adult life, but was down to her last one, Candy, following the death of another dorgi, Vulcan, late last year.

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It was thought that she didn't want to have any more dogs – in part because it risked her tripping over one of the pets and also because she didn't want to leave any young dogs behind.

One of her most famous dogs, Monty, starred in the short film that played during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games when the monarch joined James Bond star Daniel Craig for a memorable sketch.