Newly discovered pictures have emerged of the Queen smiling with Prince Philip at Sandringham just after she headed to the Norfolk hideaway alone this week.
The photographs show the monarch with her late husband of more than 73 years and their son Charles.
Princess Diana also appears in the pictures which date back to the 1980s.
The Queen is currently at her 20,000-acre Norfolk estate after spending her first Christmas without the Duke of Edinburgh.
Now, fresh pictures have been unearthed of the Queen enjoying time with her family at Sandringham more than 30 years ago.
The images were taken by amateur photographer Edward Jackson, who died aged 72 last November.
In one photograph dated 1989, the monarch appears alongside Prince Philip.
Camera club member Edward, who worked as a newsagent, regularly visited Sandringham from his home in nearby King's Lynn, Norfolk.
His family unearthed the images while clearing out a spare room in his house last Christmas.
Nephew Stephen Jackson, 46, said: "My uncle always had two cameras hanging around his neck just in case one went wrong.
"He was always on the lookout for a good shot."
Edward also spent time in London in the late 1970s, where he used his Pentax camera to capture the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations.
Edward's family are submitting his photos to Kensington Palace after they issued an appeal for pictures of the Queen to mark 70 years on the throne.
Stephen, an electrician, said: "If Edward was still here he definitely would have sent some in.
"We've picked half a dozen to send through."
The Queen headed to her private bolthole in Sandringham to reflect "after a traumatic 12 months", a royal expert has said.
She was seen on Sunday making the emotional journey from Windsor Castle for a stay at the the five bedroom cottage Wood Farm.
The late Prince Philip lived at the cottage following his retirement from public life and it was a place where the Queen and her beloved husband could relax together.
