It is, of course, protocol that the Queen's private conversations should remain just that, so we might never know what former jockey Willie Carson had said that tickled her so at Ascot on Saturday but it certainly made the monarch laugh uproariously.

       The Queen was at the meeting to present the trophy after the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes race during the QIPCO British Champions Day.

       Her enjoyment at being at the event was clear to see as she smiled broadly throughout. The 95-year-old Queen did not use the walking stick she had relied on recently, instead asking an aide to carry it.

       The Queen has become the first person hailed as "special contributor" in the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, in recognition of her support for the industry and the global investment it can attract thanks to her interest.