Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee tribute: Queen and country(side) Part Two

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations will dazzle and the eyes of the world will be on the capital. But let's not forget Her Majesty's great love of the countryside. Let's celebrate the rural reign and The Queen's exceptional affinity with animals.

Although not a hunting lady herself, The Queen has demonstrated a huge amount of support for the pursuit. In a biography by Sally Bedell Smith, she claimed that The Queen told former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, he must not allow the ban to go through Parliament. Bedell writes: "She patiently explained to him over dinner that hunting was an activity not only for the upper class but regular people as well. Some of the riders, she said, were far from well-off and rented their horses from livery stables." The Queen's love of stalking and shooting has also been well-documented.

Though her principal pursuit is riding, she rarely misses the opportunity when at Sandringham or Balmoral to go for a walk with her dogs. It is often forgotten just how much The Queen knows as a breeder and trainer of corgis, 'dorgis' (a crossbreed of a dachshund and a corgi), spaniels and labradors. The Queen's love for corgis is well known, and it is rare to see photos of her at home without them milling around her feet. This lifelong love affair started in 1944 when The Queen's father, George VI, bought her a corgi named Susan for her 18th birthday. The Queen started breeding from her and all of the 30 successive corgis she has owned have been directly descended from Susan.

The Queen also has a remarkable relationship with the 20 labradors and spaniels kept as working dogs in the Royal kennels at Sandringham. According to documentary filmmaker John Bridcut, The Queen could direct her black labrador Sherry from a distance of 800 yards, using only hand signals and whistles. This marks The Queen's skill out even amongst her gamekeepers. Indeed, her former Highlands gamekeeper, Bill Meldrum, says that she is the best dog handler he has ever seen, and "probably the best in the country".

Such is Her Majesty's affinity with her dogs that, according to Meldrum, staff at Sandringham do not even need to be told when The Queen arrives, because the gun dogs alert them. "All the dogs in the kennels start barking the moment she reaches the gate – half a mile away," he once told Country Life magazine. "We don't know how they can tell and they don't do that with anyone else."

The Queen's love for animals and the countryside has showcased the qualities – in particular a down-to-earth and no-nonsense attitude – which have marked her reign and no doubt helped the monarchy not only to survive but also to flourish. I only hope that her dogs and horses have also allowed her to relax and unwind away from prying eyes and brought much pleasure to this most private of monarchs.

You can read 'Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee tribute: Queen and country(side) Part One', here.