Queen Elizabeth marks 96th birthday with picture featuring her royal ponies

A new portrait of Queen Elizabeth has been released by the Royal Windsor Horse Show in honour of the monarch's birthday on Thursday.

According to People magazine, the majestic shot, which was taken last month on the grounds of Windsor Castle, featured the Queen standing proudly between her fell ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale.

The image showed her wearing a dark green cape-style coat as she held the reins of two of her favourite ponies in front of a magnolia tree.

To mark her 96th birthday, on Wednesday, the monarch travelled from Windsor Castle to her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, about 110 miles north of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

She's believed to be staying at Wood Farm, the cosy five-bedroom home where her late husband Prince Philip, who died last April at the age of 99, spent much of his retirement.

As per People magazine, throughout her life, the Queen has always had a fondness for horses and was given her first horse (a Shetland pony) when she was just 4 years old. She's also been known to get animated at horse racing events, enthusiastically cheering for her horses.

( With inputs from ANI )