Prince Andrew is nearly thrown from his horse after it got spooked during early morning ride in Windsor

Prince Andrew nearly took a nasty tumble after his horse was spooked during his ride through Windsor estate on Monday morning.

Dramatic images capture the moment the Duke of York's picturesque ride took a turn for the worst when his black mare begun showing signs of distress.

The feisty animal threw its head in the air and thrashed around, appearing to catch the prince by surprise and knock him off balance, leaving him clinging to the reins.

After a nerve-racking few minutes spent grappling with the mare the King's brother - who is a skilled horseman - was able to calm the frightened animal by leaning back and stabilising himself.

The Prince - who wore a black riding helmet and khaki rain-proof jacket - was then able to continue on his way.

Prince Andrew has been keeping a low profile since his infamous Newsnight interview in 2019 and has only been seen in public a handful of times.

Andrew was pilloried for his TV performance because of a lack of contrition for his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his failure to express sympathy for the dozens of women Epstein trafficked and abused over three decades.

The bombshell interview saw Emily Maitlis grill the Duke on the sex allegations made against him by Virginia Giuffre.

His alibis for not having sex with Virginia three times, including being in Woking's Pizza Express, have also been widely ridiculed by the public.

The 63-year-old is no longer a working royal, despite pictures of him at a Balmoral church service last year indicating the Windsors were welcoming him back into the fold.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline at the time that the photographs of Prince Andrew travelling to church with the Waleses were 'clearly intended to send a message of family unity'.

But he insisted it was not a sign Andrew could return to public duties in any form.

It has been a dramatic fall from grace for a man, who, as a Royal Navy veteran of 22 years once commanded the respect of a nation.

He has since given up his HRH titles and had his honorary military roles stripped by the Queen, being denied the right to wear his military uniform on a number of occasions, including as he followed his mother's coffin.

Andrew quit his role as a trade envoy when pictures emerged of him walking in New York's Central Park with American financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2010.

Images also surfaced of the Prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who claimed that Epstein employed her as a masseuse but exploited her.

Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and settle the case Ms Giuffre brought against him without admitting liability.

The Queen 'sacked' Prince Andrew from royal duties on November 19 after discussing the crisis with Prince Charles and summoning her distraught 'favourite son' to Buckingham Palace to learn his fate.

The Queen took decisive action against her second son in a desperate bid to contain the fall-out from the duke's Newsnight interview about his years of friendship with the paedophile.

Prince Charles, who was in New Zealand with Camilla, is said to have stepped in and made it clear his younger brother be stripped of all royal duties.

Andrew lost his £249,000 annual income from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant as a result.

Andrew signalled he would speak to FBI detectives investigating billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as he readied himself for a subpoena from US lawyers demanding he gave evidence under oath - something which did not ultimately happen.