Queen finds solace ...with her budgies!

CORONAVIRUS has denied her the chance to go horse riding, but the animal-loving Queen has reportedly found solace in the company of her budgerigars.

The birds live in an aviary close to the Queen’s private apartments at Windsor Castle, where she is in self-isolation.

While much has been written about the 94-year-old’s love of horses and dogs, little is known about her fondness for budgies.

The ‘chatter’, numbering about 100, began with a pair given to her by a household official in the 1930s. They are a breed known as Liberty, which are smaller and faster than their caged cousins. Over the years, the birds have been cared for by the castle’s gardener and Graham Stone, Keeper of the Royal Budgerigars.

He said: ‘I know she likes to see them when she’s at Windsor. In fact, it was her vigilance that saved a bird once. She saw it was trapped by its leg in the wiring and a call came to my home to rescue it, which I did, and the vet managed to save it.’

A source told The Times that the Queen – pictured as a young Princess with the birds – is ‘in her bubble’, with few permitted to see her. She continues to receive official papers and hold weekly audiences with the Prime Minister by telephone.