Not a fan of horse racing
Will King Charles attend Ascot anyway?
King Charles III is expected at the horse races at Ascot.
© imago/i Images
It was a pleasure for the Queen, her successor King Charles should not be able to win so much from the famous horse race at Ascot.
From 20th to 24th June, horse racing fans come together again for a week long celebration at Royal Ascot. High-ranking representatives of the royals are usually guests at the historic event under the patronage of the royal family. For the late Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), herself a racehorse owner, it was always a highlight of the year. Her successor King Charles III. (74), on the other hand, is not said to be a big fan of horse racing.
As “Daily Mail” reportst, the organizers still count on the presence of the monarch to increase the number of visitors. The income is therefore urgently needed. For Royal Ascot 2006, the racecourse, which belongs to the Crown, was reopened with a new, expensive grandstand by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen almost never missed race week
Last year, Charles, then heir to the throne, attended Royal Ascot race week. According to media reports, his mother, the Queen, had canceled her appearance at the famous horse race at short notice. Charles and his wife Camilla (75) and other family members represented the Queen at the racetrack at the time.
Previously, Elizabeth II was usually present at Royal Ascot every year. She has been the patron of horse racing since 1952. In 2020 she missed the event for the first time since 1945 because the event took place without crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Charles inherited the Queen’s horses after her death, but has already sold some of them. As the auction house Tattersalls Newmarket told the BBC in the autumn, Charles was auctioning a total of 14 broodmares, including the two well-known animals Just Fine and Love Affairs.
The company also emphasized that the auction was not unusual. “They sell horses every year. The Queen had her own broodmares, she wanted to breed them and sell them. You can’t keep them all,” explains a Tattersalls spokesman. The sale does not mean that the royal family wants to turn its back on horse racing.