- King Charles III was in Northern Ireland on Tuesday for a remembrance service for the Queen.
- As he greeted well-wishers, he stopped to pet a corgi in the crowd.
King Charles III had a surprise visitor during an appearance in Northern Ireland today: a corgi.
On Tuesday, the new monarch and Queen Consort Camilla traveled to Northern Ireland for a service of remembrance in Queen Elizabeth's honor at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. The Queen died peacefully on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
During their visit to Northern Ireland, the king and queen consort also greeted well-wishers at Hillsborough Castle, the royal family's residence.
As they accepted condolences for the loss of the Queen, King Charles III stumbled upon a corgi in the crowd.
The new king appeared delighted to see the furry friend, pointing at it and grinning.
The corgi is named Connie, according to Getty Images.
King Charles paused to speak to Connie's owner and even allowed the dog to sniff his hand as the public looked on.
Corgis hold a special place in the royal family's history.
The Queen owned over 30 corgis during her 70 years on the throne. As Insider previously reported, most of her dogs were descendants of Susan, a corgi gifted to her when she was just 18 years old. Susan accompanied the Queen on her honeymoon with Prince Philip, and she was still alive when she ascended to the throne in 1952.
Queen Elizabeth's corgis also made public appearances with her in photos and were even in an introductory skit that she filmed with Daniel Craig for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
She stopped breeding corgis in 2015, as she did not want to trip over one of the dogs as she aged, according to The Express. And the final descendant of Susan, Willow, died in 2018.
The Queen left behind four dogs when she died: two Pembroke Welsh corgis, a corgi-dachshund mix known as a dorgi, and a cocker spaniel.
Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York are inheriting the two corgis, according to the BBC.
The Queen's funeral will take place on Monday, September 19, at Westminster Abbey.