LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Mother continues to make good progress and has taken her first steps since Sunday's emergency hip replacement, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. "The Queen Mother spent another good night in hospital and has already taken a few steps following her hip replacement operation," said a palace spokeswoman. The 97-year-old mother of Queen Elizabeth broke her hip while inspecting racehorses at the royal family's rural Sandringham estate on Sunday. The spokeswoman said the Queen Mother, one of the most popular royals, was expected to receive more visitors at her private London hospital on Wednesday, following visits by her daughter Princess Margaret and grand-daughter Princess Anne. Aides say she is in good spirits and enjoying all the flowers and cards sent by well-wishers. A visit by the queen is also expected. Doctors had said that the first 24 hours after the operation would be crucial to the Queen Mother's recovery. She had the other hip replaced in a routine operation in 1995 from which she made a full recovery. The Queen Mother is in robust health for a woman of her age. She was last seen in public on Sunday attending church at Sandringham but took a tumble later in the day and had emergency surgery that night.