New lead in royal Corgi killing
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Princess Anne with her two English bull terriers.
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The prime suspect in a royal whodunit has been cleared.
Buckingham Palace has announced that Princess Anne's bull terrier Dotty did not fatally maul a corgi belonging to Queen Elizabeth II shortly before Christmas.
Instead, the palace said one of Anne's other terriers, Florence, was responsible.
Newspaper reports had identified Dotty as the culprit after Pharos the corgi was attacked at the royal family's Sandringham estate last week. The corgi was badly injured and had to be put down.
The incident prompted calls from animal welfare groups for Princess Anne to destroy Dotty, who attacked two children in a park in 2002, landing her owner with a £500 (U.S.$880) fine.
But on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace announced Dotty was no longer a suspect.
"We understand that it was Florence," a spokesman for the royal household told CNN. "We are confirming that it wasn't Dotty."
Buckingham Palace had previously refused to comment on the incident.
The palace said it was a matter for the queen and her daughter to decide whether Florence would be put down. British newspapers reported that Florence had no history of violent behavior.
The attack took place as Britain's royal family gathered for Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk.
The princess arrived with the dogs, and as the door was opened by a servant the Queen's corgi raced down to greet her. At that point Pharos was bitten on the legs, according to reports.
The queen, who is convalescing after recent knee and facial surgery, is said to have heard the noise and walked outside but Pharos was already injured.
The queen is devoted to her corgis -- a short-legged Welsh farm dog with a fox-like face -- and prepared them Christmas stockings filled with doughnuts and chocolate drops, the Times newspaper reported.
