King Charles visibly moved as horse bred by Queen Elizabeth wins at Royal Ascot
The late Queen rarely looked happier than when she had a winning horse at Royal Ascot.
So when her son on Thursday saw one of his runners cross the line victorious for the first time at the race meeting, it would only be natural for his first thought to have been his mother – and for that to bring a tear to his eye.
The King was visibly moved as he watched Desert Hero, an 18-1 shot bred by the late monarch win the King George V Stakes and “keep her dream alive” at her favourite racing event.
An emotional King celebrated his winner in the Royal box alongside Queen Camilla, who wiped away tears next to a smiling Princess Anne in a touching display of solidarity.
His niece Zara Tindall noted that it was a “bittersweet” moment for the family because their minds would have been on “how proud and excited our grandmother, the Queen, would have been”.
“But to have a winner for Charles and Camilla, and keep that dream alive, was incredible,” she said.
The late Queen was besotted with the sport, enjoying 24 Royal Ascot winners across six decades and always proudly celebrating her horses.
She was an enthusiastic owner and breeder of thoroughbreds during her 70-year reign and attended every Ascot up until last year when she opted to watch the racing meet on the television from Windsor Castle.
It marked the first time during her reign that she did not attend the event in person – and her son is now showing his determination to take up the mantle.
Thursday’s race was a thrilling win for the King and Queen as the three-year-old Desert Hero was in a neck-and-neck struggle in the closing stages.
In his visible excitement after the race, the monarch knocked over the winner’s trophy on the plinth before he grinned in delight and picked it back up with the help of the Duke of Kent.
The occasion marked the King’s first winner of the week, having come up short in three previous races on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A win at his first Ascot since ascending to the throne is likely to have been particularly poignant for the King, as his mother also landed her first victory at the racing meet just after her Coronation.
She claimed victory two weeks and four days after she was crowned in 1953, whereas His Majesty’s win came six weeks and five days after his Coronation on May 6.
Their Majesties celebrated with gusto before descending to the winners’ enclosure to congratulate jockey Tom Marquand and thank trainer William Haggas.
The famous race meet is strongly associated with the Royal family, who attend every year and partake in the carriage procession at the start of each day.
The Queen is known to be a great fan of racing and paid tribute to her late mother-in-law on the first day of Royal Ascot by wearing an heirloom diamond brooch previously worn by Elizabeth II.
The King did not, however, inherit from his mother quite her fervour for racing.
He and the Queen have jointly owned several horses over the years, but in 2021 his wife said that “He’s somebody who likes partaking rather than watching, he likes to be part of the sport”.
Despite this, it is said that he has been “trying to really learn about the whole industry”.
The monarch’s visible emotion and delight on Thursday may now help secure his sustained interest in racing, even if it does not yet match that of the late Queen.
Mrs Tindall, the Princess Royal’s daughter, said: “Like all those owners who come here and have a horse win, having that dream, that hope, and actually fulfilling it, is incredible.
“And the horses are the main game really. That’s why we get involved and love them, and the competition. That adrenaline. It’s indescribable.”
