Celebratory portrait released in honour of the Queen’s 96th birthday

Buckingham Palace has released a celebratory portrait of the Queen to the royal family’s official Instagram page on Thursday, April 21, in a special tribute to Her Majesty’s milestone 96th birthday and Platinum Jubilee year.

The portrait features a lively looking Queen, dressed in an understated green trench dress as she holds the reigns of two stunning white ponies within the grounds of Windsor Castle.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)

The post acknowledged the Queen’s love of horses and her dedicated annual attendance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show since 1943.

“Ahead of The Queen’s 96th Birthday tomorrow, @royalwindsorhorseshow have released a new photograph of Her Majesty with two of her fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale,” the post read.

As detailed in the caption, the majestic portrait was taken last month and is “the fourth in a series of photos released by the Royal Windsor Horse Show, following images that celebrated the Golden Jubilee, the Platinum Jubilee and Her Majesty’s 90th Birthday”.

Royal watchers were quick to comment on the post, praising Her Majesty’s beauty and wishing her the happiest of birthdays.

“The Queen is so beautiful!!!” one fan wrote.

“Her majesty with some of her most beloved creatures – horses. Second only to the corgis,” another commented.

“Amazing long live the queen.”

The Queen’s actual date of birth is April, 21, 1926, however, her official birthday is celebrated on June 2 when a number of public celebrations will take place at Buckingham Palace. Today’s birthday celebrations will be spent privately with the Queen and her close family. She has travelled to her Sandringham Estate to celebrate the milestone.

The upcoming birthday celebrations are sure to be a welcomed change of pace for the Queen following her ongoing health battles. During a recent virtual visit to the Royal London Hospital on Wednesday, April 6, Her Majesty opened up about her battle with Covid-19 revealing to former patients and hospital staff that the virus “does leave one very tired and exhausted”.

“This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result,” she said.