With a characteristically eccentric final flourish, Alexander McQueen has bequeathed £50,000 of the designer's £16m fortune to his beloved pet dogs. 
 
 The 40-year-old left another £50,000 to each of his two housekeepers, one of whom found him hanged in a wardrobe in his Mayfair flat nearly 18 months ago. 
 
 However, documents made public on Tuesday reveal that he left the bulk of his estate in a trust for his Sarabande charity, which shares a name with his spring/summer 2007 collection, famous for including a dress adorned with fresh flowers. 
 
 He asked the charity to consider using this money to fund bursaries or grants for students at Central St Martin's College of Art and Design in London, where he studied fashion. 
 
 Four other charities – the Terrence Higgins Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the London Buddhist Centre and the Blue Cross animal welfare charity in Oxfordshire -– also received £100,000 each. 
 
 McQueen's fortune was valued at £16,036,500. He died on 11 February last year, when he hanged himself after taking a mixture of cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquilisers on the day before his mother Joyce's funeral. 
 
 The will includes provision for £50,000 to be put into a trust for the upkeep of his bull terriers for the rest of their lives, along with the same amount that was left to his housekeepers, Marlene and Cesar Garcia, for their "long and faithful service". 
 
 McQueen also bequeathed £50,000 to his godson and each of his nieces and nephews, as well as £250,000 to each of his three sisters and two brothers. 
 
 Spencer Wisdom, solicitor and legacy manager for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, said: "We're thrilled that such an icon of the fashion world chose to leave a lasting gift to the home," he said. 
 
 "Alexander was a devoted animal lover and a great supporter of Battersea, and we know he would be so proud to see his generous donation helping care for the thousands of dogs and cats at Battersea in need of a new home." ||||| Fashion designer Alexander McQueen left £50,000 to pet dogs 
 
 Fashion designer Alexander McQueen left £50,000 of his £16 million fortune for his beloved pet dogs, his will reveals. 
 
 26 July 2011 
 
 Photo: REX 
 
 The designer asked for the money to be put in a trust fund to look after Minter, Juice and Callum for the rest of their lives. 
 
 McQueen, 40, also bequeathed another £50,000 to each of his two housekeepers, one of whom found him hanged in a wardrobe in his Mayfair flat nearly 18 months ago. 
 
 But he left most of his money to his favourite charities, including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in south London and the London Buddhist Centre. 
 
 McQueen left £16,036,500 when he hanged himself after taking a cocktail of cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquillisers on February 11 last year, the day before his mother Joyce's funeral. 
 
 He also left £50,000 to his housekeepers, Marlene and Cesar Garcia, for their ''long and faithful service''. Mr Garcia made the grim discovery of McQueen's body. 
 
 McQueen also bequeathed £50,000 to his godson and each of his nieces and nephews, and £250,000 to each of his three sisters and two brothers. 
 
 Four charities - The Terrence Higgins Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the London Buddhist Centre and the Blue Cross sick animal centre in Burford, Oxfordshire - have received £100,000 each. 
 
 The designer left the remainder of his estate in a trust for his Sarabande charity, which shares a name with his spring/summer 2007 collection famous for including a dress adorned with fresh flowers. 
 
 He asked the charity to consider using this money to fund bursaries or grants for students at Central St Martin's College of Art and Design in London, where he studied fashion. 
 
 McQueen, who was known as Lee to friends and family, was born in London's East End in March 1969. 
 
 He was the son of a taxi driver and left school at 16 but quickly rose through the fashion industry to become one of the world's leading designers. 
 
 An inquest in April last year heard that he killed himself after struggling with depression, the pressures of his work and his mother's death. 
 
 The hearing was told that he saw his huge success as a ''double-edged sword'' and became ''overwhelmed with grief'' after his mother died. 
 
 The inquest heard that police found a book at the designer's flat on the back of which he had scribbled: ''Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee.'' 
 
 The fashion house that bears McQueen's name remains hugely influential. 
 
 The Duchess of Cambridge's intricately decorated wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, received rave reviews on her big day in April and is currently on display at Buckingham Palace.
– Alexander McQueen really loved his dogs. The fashion designer, who committed suicide last year, left $82,000 to be put into a trust for bull terriers Minter, Juice, and Callum, to ensure they'd be well cared-for the rest of their lives. The rest of his $26 million fortune went mostly to charities, including two animal-related causes, the Guardian reports. He also left money to family members, and bequeathed $82,000 each to his two housekeepers—one of whom found him dead. E! notes that McQueen once said, in a 2009 article, "My dogs are the only thing in the world I really trust." The Telegraph adds that after his death, police found a book on which the designer had written, "Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you."