Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Traditions Included a 'Personalized Stocking' for Each Corgi and a Dog-Friendly Feast!

The Queen "described her corgis as 'family,' and she didn't leave them out during the holidays," Caroline Perry, author of 'The Corgi and the Queen,' tells PEOPLE

Queen Elizabeth's love of corgis is well documented, but few know how her beloved dogs would celebrate Christmas.

Caroline Perry, the author of The Corgi and the Queen, tells PEOPLE exclusively that special arrangements were made for the late monarch's corgis to make their holiday extra special.

"The late Queen described her corgis as 'family,' and she didn’t leave them out during the holidays!" Perry explains. "She would make each one of her precious pups a personalized stocking, filled with little toys and favorite treats. She loved watching them 'open' their gifts on Christmas morning!"

After stepping out for church on Christmas Day, the royal family heads back to Sandringham House for a traditional Christmas lunch complete with roast turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry, bread sauces and Christmas pudding. But the corgis also had their own Christmas menu to look forward to.

"The corgis enjoyed their own special festive feast," Perry shares. "Chefs called this the 'Royal Corgis’ Menu' and ensured that meat was very finely diced to be certain there were no bones. The Queen personally served the meal to her dogs and fed them in a strict order so that none of them felt left out."

Related: Why Queen Elizabeth's Corgis Would Sadly 'Slump on the Floor' When They Saw Her Wearing a Tiara

And the corgis might have caught a few other scraps around Sandringham in December.

"In the run-up to the big day, it was common for the royal corgis to run in and out of the kitchen to try and swipe some of the delicious food that was being prepared," Perry says.

Through the years, Queen Elizabeth's corgis were photographed joining her as she traveled from London to Norfolk by train to spend the holidays at Sandringham.

Queen Elizabeth — famous for her love of dogs, horses and other animals — had family pets but received her first corgi, Susan, as an 18th birthday gift. The pup was by her side during key moments in her life, including on her wedding day to Prince Philip in 1947. Susan started a long line of corgis and dorgis (corgis bred with dachshunds) that Queen Elizabeth owned throughout her life....14 generations, in fact!

"A lot of people wonder why she chose the corgi breed," Perry previously shared with PEOPLE. "People who have corgis will tell you — they're such amazing dogs, but not easy dogs. They're very spirited — some of her corgis did get into scrapes; Susan did get in trouble a couple of times. Even for a very experienced dog handler like the Queen, corgis are not for novice dog owners. The fact that she loved them so much, I think it speaks to the fact that she wasn't able to express her emotions and feelings."

Related: Christmas with the Royals! Every Photo You Need to See of the Royal Family Getting Festive

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Queen Elizabeth, who died at age 96 in Sept. 2022, also had her constant companions at her funeral. As the monarch traveled to her final resting place at Windsor Castle, her remaining pups — Muick and Sandy — were outside waiting for her.

The animals are now cared for by Prince Andrew and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. Fergie — as Sarah, the Duchess of York is known — told PEOPLE earlier this year that the corgis are "national icons, so every time they run chasing a squirrel, I panic. But they're total joys, and I always think that when they bark at nothing, and there's no squirrels in sight, I believe it's because the Queen is passing by."

Queen Elizabeth was big on tradition around the holidays, from sending more than 750 hand-signed Christmas cards each year (Perry explains the monarch would start signing them during her summer vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland!) to handing out 1,500 puddings from Fortum & Mason to her employees as a holiday gift (in addition to a "personalized card and a gift voucher to spend on things they enjoyed," Perry explains).

And like many families, Christmas was associated with certain movies.

"The Queen’s favorite festive movie is not one of the usual suspects! In the lead-up to Christmas, she loved getting together with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to watch 1980s 'space opera' superhero classic Flash Gordon," Perry says. "It was one of her all-time favorite movies, and this became an annual tradition that she very much looked forward to."

When it came to decorations, Queen Elizabeth kept her Christmas trees and other holiday decor up until Feb. 6. "This was the anniversary of her beloved father King George VI’s death, and it was a tribute to him that she maintained throughout her life," Perry shares.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth last year, King Charles is "keen to maintain many of his late mother’s traditions," Perry says. "On Christmas Eve, the family will open their gifts and enjoy a formal dinner. On Christmas Day, after attending church, they will eat a multi-course lunch and play games like Charades, which Queen Elizabeth was very fond of. Seeing the family having fun and laughing together was her greatest joy."

The Corgi and the Queen by Caroline Perry with illustrations by Lydia Corry is on sale now.

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