To mark the occasion, the monarch released a new picture in which she poses with two white ponies. The photo was taken in the grounds of Windsor Castle last month, and the ponies’ names are Bybeck Nightingale and Bybeck Katie. The queen, who recently made Windsor her permanent home after 70 years of Buckingham Palace being her main residence, has traveled to her Sandringham estate in Norfolk to celebrate her 96th birthday. But she won’t be staying at Sandringham House, the grand home where she usually spends Christmas with other members of the royal family. Instead, she’ll be staying at the nearby cottage of Wood Farm, where her late husband Prince Philipspent his retirement before passing away last year at the age of 99. The Guardian describes Wood Farm as “modest” by royal standards and has a more “informal air” than Sandringham House. Prince Williamand Duchess Kate paid tribute to the queen on their official Twitter account, posting a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the queen at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019 and a 2018 picture of the queen and Prince Philip surrounded by seven of their 10 great-grandchildren. In yesterday’s interview with TODAY, Prince Harrysuggested that for his grandmother the novelty of birthdays might have worn off, saying “after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.” He opened up about his and Duchess Meghan’s secret visit to the queen last week on their way to the Netherlands, saying that he had wanted to ensure that his grandmother is “protected” and that “she has the right people around her." It was Meghan’s first time seeing the monarch since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s final string of engagements as working royals in March 2020, after which they relocated to the US. Harry said he doesn’t know yet if they’ll bring their 2-year-old son Archie and 10-month-old daughter Lilibet to the queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in June, citing security concerns. Lili has still not met her namesake, who was known affectionately as Lilibet in childhood. Next up, The Real Story Behind Queen Elizabeth’s Custom-Made, Color-Coordinated Umbrellas and Why She Has 100 of Them
