Queen Elizabeth’s groom made heartbreaking vow about burying royal’s beloved horse
Queen Elizabeth II's long-standing stud has revealed the heartbreaking promise he made to the 96-year-old in her final weeks – after she took a final ride on her beloved pony Emma
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite stud groom has revealed the final heartbreaking promise he made to her just weeks before her death.
By July 2022, the beloved monarch had grown increasingly frail, but still mustered up enough strength to take part in one of her favourite hobbies, horse riding. It was only less than eight weeks before her passing on July 18, that the Queen, aged 96, took her favourite pony Emma for one final ride.
She was joined by her long-standing stud groom Terry Pendry, 74, who detailed the touching moment in an interview with the Rosebud With Gyles Brandreth podcast. He shared that the former monarch had become so frail that he had to help her off her pony, even though she insisted on climbing into the saddle herself.
Instead of riding beside her as he usually did, the Queen had asked him to walk next to her so that she wouldn’t fall. He explained: “The very last time with her wasn’t a ride, I walked. She was quite frail. She actually ended up being smaller than Queen Elizabeth [her mother], her last four years that she was quite poorly.”
Pendry then promised the Queen that her favourite pony Emma – who she rode in the grounds around Windsor Castle in the last 15 years of her life – would be taken care of after her death. He said: “I promised the Queen that I will bury Emma. Her ashes will go between Burmese, who was the last horse she rode on Trooping the Colour, and the last horse that she ever rode, which was a dear horse, Sanction.”
