Beaming as she took to the saddle in the grounds of Windsor Castle, it was the first time she had been seen outside since locking down with the Duke of Edinburgh and a small retenue of staff, dubbed “HMS Bubble”.

As a lifelong dog lover, the Queen surprised her family and aides when she decided to take on two puppies in the new year – a Dachshund-corgi (dorgi) cross, Fergus, and a corgi called Muick. Fergus subsequently passed away but she still has Muick and her older dorgi, Candy, which she regularly walks around Windsor Great Park.

Although Buckingham Palace has stressed that the Queen’s back sprain is unrelated to her medical team’s recent advice to rest, and that she has not received hospital treatment for the injury, it is no secret in royal circles that the Queen has not been as mobile as she used to be, suffering particularly from knee and hip pain.

In 2003, she underwent a successful operation to remove a torn cartilage from her right knee, but like anyone five years shy of their 100th birthday, she does suffer from joint pain. 

As someone whose mantra has always been “I need to be seen to be believed”, the Queen will be desperate to get back to business. But with the Platinum Jubilee, next summer’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of her reign, fast approaching, doctors will want to do everything in their power to ensure that the grandmother of the nation is in the finest fettle possible.