The Queen's corgis have been accused of savaging Princess Beatrice's dog, leaving the 11-year-old terrier 'badly injured', a palace source has claimed.
Princess Bea's elderly dog Max was allegedly set upon by the Queen's six dogs after the royal family's dog walker at Balmoral lost control of the pack. The Norfolk terrier nearly lost an ear and had to be taken to the vet after the attack, reported the Daily Express.
"There was blood everywhere" the source told the Daily Mail. "It was really nasty."
The Queen's corgis arrive back from Balmoral in 2007 following a summer visit to Balmoral
The source added that Bea had been up to Scotland to tend to Max's injuries following the fight, which is believed to have happened last Sunday.
She is thought to have been especially upset because one of her other dogs, a Norfolk Terrier named Millie, passed away the week before. Max was given to Princess Bea as a present for her 13th birthday.
Max went missing in Berkshire in 2008 after running away in Windsor Great Park. Princess Bea put posters up of the missing dog and Max finally wandered into her father's house three weeks later, looking bedraggled but otherwise unharmed.
The Queen loves corgis and has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign: her first corgi was called Susan and was given to her for her 18th birthday in 1944
The Queen owns six dogs: three pure-bred corgis named Holly, Willow and Monty, and three dorgis (a corgi-dachshund cross) called Cider, Candy and Rosie.
The Queen has always kept corgis: this picture of a corgi with Prince Charles and Princess Anne was released in time for the Queen's jubilee.
The Pembroke Welsh Corgi breed in particular has garned reputation for biting from its cattle-herding heritage. Both Norfolk terriers and corgis are pack dogs, which may have fuelled the fight. The Queen is said to be "very upset" by the incident.