The Queen To Spend Time With George, Charlotte And Louis
Queen Elizabeth is a huge fan of horses and riding, and it seems that her love is shared by other members of the royal family, especially her daughter Princess Anne and her granddaughter Zara Tindall, with both taking part in the Olympics in the discipline.
And it seems that the Queen will continue sharing this love of riding with the younger generations, as she will be getting new riding companions in her great-grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
According to reports from The Times, the three Cambridge children have become “avid riders” in the last couple of months, often enjoying pony rides at their home in Norfolk, Anmer Hall, where the family spent most of the third lockdown in the UK.
Once the restrictions are finally lifted, it is expected that George, seven, Charlotte, five, and two-year-old Louis will be joining their great-grandmother at Windsor for some riding, or perhaps at Balmoral if it’s during the summer months.
William and Kate have been stated to encourage their children’s new hobby and have even joined them on occasions, helping out with the grooming and mucking out.
The three young royals should be set when it comes to mentors, as their aunt, Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, could show them some tips and tricks, as she often rides with the Queen at Windsor or Balmoral. The 17-year-old is said to spend a lot of time in the stables, helping the team and mucking out, according to some reports.
This isn’t surprising, as back in 2018 it was revealed that Prince George had already started practising on a Shetland pony belonging to William’s cousin, Zara.
The report from the time said: “William and Kate were really keen to get George riding – it’s something all the royals do and the whole family adore animals. But obviously, he’s only small so they didn’t want to put him on a big horse. They asked Zara if they could use one of her Shetland ponies and he’s been learning to ride on one of those.”
The Monarch’s love for horses began when she was only three years old, and now 91 years later she still rides occasionally. Her head groom and riding companion, Terry Pendry, has described the Queen as a “fountain of knowledge in all things equine-you might say a living encyclopedia” in the past.