The Queen has demonstrated that Prince Philip is still with her wherever she travels by using her late husband’s favourite walking stick.

Her Majesty has relied on the trusted attendant in recent months due to a damaged back that has caused her discomfort.

The Duke of Edinburgh has used her choice of stick, which has a curving handle made from iron, countless times over the years.

It is normally preserved in a pot outside the front door of the Sandringham Estate’s farmhouse, where the Duke spent his retirement.

And, when staying at Wood Farm, Her Majesty, 95, borrowed it to help her go around.

On Saturday, the Queen was photographed using it at a reception hosted by local organisations at Sandringham House, where she was presented with a cake commemorating her Platinum Jubilee.

“I believe I’ll simply stick a knife in it and see if it works,” she laughed. The remainder can be done by someone else.”

Gyles Brandreth, a broadcaster, told the Telegraph, “I recognised the stick straightaway because it was always kept in a pot by the front door.”

“It was the Duke’s stick, and the Queen’s use of it is quite poignant.”

Prince Philip was last seen using the same walking stick to navigate a muddy bog on a visit to a local nature reserve following abdominal surgery in 2013.

In October 2021, the Queen was seen using a walking stick for the first time in 17 years during a service commemorating the centenary of the Royal British Legion at Westminster Abbey.

Prior to that, it is thought she died in 2003, at the age of 76, following surgery to remove damaged cartilage from her right knee.

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