The Queen was seen out riding along the River Thames, near Windsor Castle, wearing a headscarf, with her long-serving Head Groom Terry Pendry on Monday, 6 March 2017.

According to reports, the Queen was looking rather relaxed and enjoying the spring weather.

Queen Elizabeth II rides a horse at Windsor Castle pic.twitter.com/ZGjSbRn7jz

— Royal Women (@vaninaswchindt) March 6, 2017

The Queen was riding her beloved black Fell pony, Carltonlima Emma, preferring to wear a silk scarf, rather than a helmet, and a navy blue waterproof coat.

The Queen has joked that she does not wear protective headgear because it would crush her hair.

The Queen’s love of horses began when she was four years old, when her father, King George VI, gave her a Shetland pony named Peggy.

The Queen’s 90th Birthday Gala last year at Windsor focused on her life and her love of horses.

The Princess Royal, the Earl of Wessex and his daughter Lady Louise Windsor rode some of the Queen’s own horses in the parade at the end of the celebrations, accompanied by Zara Tindall on her own horse Toytown.

The Queen is said to be a regular sight at Windsor Castle’s stables and she is often accompanied by Mr Pendry when she rides in the park.

In recent years, the Queen had reduced the amount of time she spends in the saddle but she still takes a keen interest in all her horses and ponies.

The Queen now spends most of her time at Windsor Castle, rather than Buckingham Palace in London.

The Royal Stables have been home to a number of horses, including Betsy, her favourite black horse during the 1950s, and a grey gelding called Surprise which the Queen rode to Ascot racecourse in 1961 and galloped down the course at Ascot.