Queen Elizabeth II was still as ‘sharp as a tack’ just 48 hours before she passed away – and continued to enjoy her favourite pasttime, a close confidante has confirmed

The late Queen was in high spirits in the days before her death and was even able to indulge in one of her favourite passions, it has been revealed.

The monarch spoke to one of her racehorse trainers just 48 hours before her passing, and it was clear that her love for the sport was undiminished right until the very end. Clive Cox, who trained the final winner of the monarch’s career, said he had spoken to the Queen on Tuesday 6 September to discuss the prospects of her horse, Love Affairs, shortly before she accepted Boris Johnson’s resignation and appointed Liz Truss as the new Prime Minister at Balmoral.

And later that same day, she tuned in to watch her two-year-old filly convincingly at Goodwood. Cox said of his last exchange with the Queen: “Every time I have had a runner for Her Majesty I have spoken to her on the morning of the race. Those conversations have been the greatest privilege of my life but when I called on Tuesday I was told that the Queen was quite busy, which was understandable. But at 10 o’clock the phone rang and it was Her Majesty on the line.”