Towering over the Queen, the imposing animal, which is 17.1 hands high, was given his new name by the monarch when she visited the barracks of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment with the Prince of Wales.

At one point Perseus – named after the Greek mythological hero who beheaded Medusa – appeared to bow to the Queen. He was ridden by Lance Corporal Richard Brown in full ceremonial dress.

The Queen’s in-depth knowledge of horses is well known in racing circles, but even she was intrigued when she saw a horse painted with a skeleton.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles visited the forge, at the Hyde Park Barracks, to hear about the Farriers’ Apprenticeship Programme from Farrier Major Chris Thomas.

He was then shown the tack room, where the Master Saddler, Corporal of Horse Samuel Belasco, outlined the painstaking process of preparing for major events such as Trooping the Colour, state visits and Royal weddings.

Inside the tack room, two troopers were polishing their boots, helmets and other bits of their ceremonial kit.

“Do you have to put polish on after every time you go out?” Charles asked Trooper Thomas O’Mara, before asking Trooper James Fisher about his knee-high ceremonial boots, saying: “How do you walk in those?”

“It’s very difficult, sir,” replied the soldier.

The visit came as it was revealed the Queen has won £6.7m over the last 30 years. New research shows that her most successful year in the business of flat racing was last year, when her horses earned her £557,650.

The new data, amassed by website myracing.com, has been cross-referenced against information from the British Horse Racing Authority for accuracy, but only dates back to 1988 when records became readily available.

Perseus beats a path to the Queen