New photo of UK Queen marks her 96th birthday

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 96th birthday on Thursday, an occasion marked with the release of a picture showing her with two of her ponies.

The image was commissioned by the Royal Windsor Horse Show and shows the monarch with her Fell ponies, Bybeck Nightingale and Bybeck Katie.And she will mark her birthday privately at the Sandringham estate that has offered her and her late husband, Prince Philip, a refuge from the affairs of state.The monarch is well-known for her passion for horses and ponies - and this year's Royal Windsor Horse Show will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.More than 1,000 performers and 500 horses will enact key moments of royal history, from the age of Elizabeth the First, to Queen Elizabeth the Second.