Queen Elizabeth watches her thoroughbred mares give birth on her iPad.
The 92-year-old monarch usually misses her horses – who are kept at Sandringham in Norfolk – deliver their babies in the spring and summer months as she spends the majority of her time in London, but her staff have come up with a strategy so that she can still see the birthing process – even though she’s over 100 miles away.
David Somers, manager of the Queen’s stables, has revealed that the royal is alerted when foaling begins and she watches the births on her tablet via CCTV.
Speaking on a special episode of ‘Countryfile’ last night (10.06.18), David said: "The advantage of the CCTV is that once it’s happening I can also be on the phone at the same time explaining what’s going on and talking her through the process."
The monarch has a wide understanding of horses as she was given her first pony Peggy by her grandfather George V for her fourth birthday.
The Queen’s retired stud groom Bob Rowlands explained: "She is very, very, very knowledgeable about her horses. The main thing you had to be very careful of was not trying to pull the wool over the Queen’s eyes. If we had a foal, the Queen would arrive and would always keen to see her newborn babies."
And it’s not just her horses that are given the special treatment as the Queen’s dairy cows get to lie down on big water pillows to sleep and are able to rub against an automatic cow brush that removes dirt and relieves stress.
Farm manager Mark Osman explained: "As the cow lies down, the water pushes underneath the pressure points where the cow lies, and the cow ends up floating."
Queen Elizabeth watches her mares give birth on her iPad
