A "beloved and beautiful" horse that took centre stage at Trooping the Colour has died.

Burniston, an Irish Draught X, was 29 and living at The Horse Trust in Speen in her well-earned retirement.

The "gentle lady" suffered ongoing health issues because of her age and staff at The Horse Trust were devastated when they were no longer able to manage her pain.

Burniston, known at Burnie to staff at the Home of Rest in Slad Lane, served both in the Defence Animal Training Regiment and then in the Household Division for an incredible 18 years.

During her service the bay mare took part in all ceremonial duties and because of her "beauty, grace and calm temperament", Burniston was chosen as the centre horse - the one that stands alone whilst the officer in charge commands the parade - at Trooping the Colour, the annual celebration of the Queen's birthday.

She retired to The Horse Trust in 2014 after her long and distinguished career and staff say she immediately "fit right in".

She caused staff a scare in 2019 when she had to be rushed to the Royal Veterinary College because of a wound on her leg and it was discovered she had two splint bone fractures in her hind leg.

Announcing Burniston's death, The Horse Trust said: "Since retiring with us Burniston suffered from a few ongoing health issues, including equine asthma and fetlock arthritis which isn’t uncommon for a large horse of 29.

"She suffered with lameness on and off for the last 6-12 months and has had a few spells on box rest.

"Nicky the vet had been monitoring and treating her lameness in the field as due to her severe asthma box rest it became increasingly difficult to manage.

"Unfortunately, Burniston’s condition kept deteriorating and our vet Nicky was no longer able to manage the pain and asthma and it was very unlikely that neither condition would improve significantly enough to ensure she had a good quality of life.

"This meant that we knew it was time and we prepared ourselves to say our final goodbyes to this gentle lady.

"Burnie you were truly one of a kind and it has been our complete honour to serve you after all your years of service to us. Kind, gentle and loving you gave us so many treasured memories that we will never forget."

They added: "She captured our hearts from day one and was an absolute pleasure to care for due to her soft and affectionate nature. She was very easy going, calm and patient and would politely stand waiting for the farrier or vet even if there was chaos happening around her."