The Queen rides her favourite black pony everyday during lockdown & is looked after by 22 live-in staff at ‘HMS Bubble’
WE'VE all developed our new "normal" daily routines during lockdown - whether that's doing laps of the street once everyday or wolfing down our sweet treats as soon as they're out the oven.
And life in lockdown is certainly different for The Queen too.
The publication reports the 94-year-old drives herself in a bottle-green Jaguar to the private Home Park within the Windsor estate for her daily exercise.
Once she arrives at the private park, the Mail reports: "Head groom Terry Pendry ensures her ponies are ready and that he keeps two metres from his boss.
"The monarch's ride of choice is a black pony called Carltonlima Emma, named after the stud near Leeds where she was bred, and the routine gives The Queen a sense of both freedom and normality."
Since going into lockdown in late March, The Queen and Prince Philip have a team of 22 devoted staff who are living away from their families to create a shield around the royal couple.
The team of 22 - which is being referred to by staff as the "HMS Bubble" - includes The Queen's favourite page Paul Whybrew (who reportedly even watches telly with Her Majesty) and her private secretary Edward Young.
In an email sent to all staff, master of the household Tony Johnstone-Burt called upon his experience as a former vice-admiral and likened the coronavirus crisis to a navy exercise which required them to live away from their families and cope with uncertainty and anxiety.
The Queen spent her 94th birthday in lockdown this year and celebrated the occasion with a Zoom call with her family.
The Queen has been around horses from her early childhood, with her first riding lesson taking place when she was just four at the Buckingham Palace Mews.
She was given a Shetland pony named Peggy as a child, going on to follow the sport throughout her life.
In more Royal Family news, The Queen’s coronation was almost ruined by her lady-in-waiting nearly fainting on live TV.
And The Queen once ‘hid in the bushes’ at Buckingham Palace with her corgis to avoid an ‘awkward chat’ with a guest.
Plus Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spent their ‘quiet’ second wedding anniversary ‘as a family’ and ‘refused all work calls’.