THE Queen is “making the most” of lockdown by doing daily horse rides and spending quality time with Prince Philip, an insider claims.
Her Majesty, 94, has currently put all her public duties on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, and is in “excellent spirits” at Windsor Castle.
Sources say the Queen plans to return to public duty “as soon as she possibly can” and intends to “work harder than ever” after the lockdown period.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl added that sources close to the royal have said the monarch is keen for the royal family to show a united front after a turbulent start to the year.
During the lockdown, the Queen is said to have been relying on what she has dubbed her “substitutes”, who include Prince Charles, 71, Camilla, 72, Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38.
The source said the Queen is “riding every day” and “making the most of her time”, but “is looking forward to getting back to normal”.
They said: “One of the nicest things for the Queen is that she is getting to spend more time with her husband than she usually would.
“They have dinner together in the evenings and I imagine the Queen is of the generation where she dresses for dinner.”
The source added that the Queen is still having a weekly audience with the Prime Minister and receiving her red Government boxes, and is “very much fulfilling her duties as head of state.”
They continued: “I think we will see her doing private audiences again and more of the work we are used to seeing her do in public at some point in the future.”
Her Majesty also did an emotional nationwide address during the lockdown, where she told Brits that we are “all in this together.”
The Queen left Buckingham Palace to self-isolate at Windsor Castle, but plans to return to her main London residence when it is safe to do so.
A second source added: “The Queen is planning to come back to work and when she does I think we’ll see her work harder than ever.”
Royal biographer Andrew Morton told the Sun he fears it is unlikely the Queen will be allowed to return to her normal public duties at all.
He reckons Brits are only ever likely to see her on TV or video links — such as with her recent stirring addresses.
Trooping the Colour, summer garden parties and a state visit from South Africa have all been cancelled — emptying her diary until the autumn.
In more Royal Family news, Meghan Markle & Prince Harry feel ‘immense relief’ that they’ve left the UK & can start a new life, a source has claimed.
And Pippa Middleton orders cabs under the name ‘Lucy’, a taxi driver has revealed.
Plus The Queen has her own poet who she pays with 720 bottles of sherry when they are appointed.
