King Charles is planning cameo appearance at Royal Randwick for Everest at Australian tour
King Charles could put the royal back into Royal Randwick. With no official engagement planned on Everest Day, the door is open for him to attend the race meeting.
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Now it really is royal Randwick.
King Charles III could make a possible 11th hour appearance at Sydney’s biggest race meeting featuring the $20 million The TAB Everest at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The King is due to visit Australia on a whirlwind five-day tour, his first as the ruling Monarch, and arrives in Sydney on Friday, the eve of The Everest at Royal Randwick.
His entourage have planned no official engagement for the King on Everest Day, opening the door for him to attend the race meeting which has the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) named in his honour.
It is understood “contingency” plans are in place if he decides to make a cameo appearance at Randwick.
The King’s down under tour which also includes a visit to Samoa to open CHOGM has been shortened due to health concerns.
The 75-year-old Monarch was hospitalised in January for a benign prostate enlargement when it was discovered he had cancer.
Details of his exact illness remain confidential but his chemotherapy treatment will be paused until he returns to England 11 days later.
Monarchists were buoyed by the news the King could attend the Everest Meeting on Saturday (October 19), saying “after all it’s a race that was named in his honour”.
It is understood the Premier Chris Minns’ officials have booked out executive seating for the race meeting.
The King will arrive in Sydney on the evening of October 18 with no events planned for the following day.
Philip Benwell, chairman of Australian Monarchist League said: “There was an expectation that the King would be at the King Charles III Stakes, it was delayed to fit in with his visit, and if he can’t make it many people will be very disappointed.
“If the Queen were here she would move heaven and earth to attend it and she would honour both the race and people involved.
“We are hearing that the King is coming to the races named in his honour – on a future occasion he won’t be here at the same time that the race runs.
“The King’s visit coincides with the time of the race, so it makes sense for him to go even if he pops in and pops out, – it was after all named after him on the day of his accession,” he said.
The King’s official itinerary for the five-day Australian tour was released last month and it did not include the Everest meeting on October 19.
But it is understood, depending on how the King feels on the tour, he might add other events to his schedule.
Racegoers are excited for the possible change of scheduling for the ruling monarch to be trackside at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
This would understandably cause a last minute rush to organise logistics for Racing NSW and Australian Turf Club officials including security and crowd control.
Royal Randwick is the only racecourse in the world that has the “Royal” prefix.
England’s famous Royal Ascot meeting is held annually over five days in June but for the rest of the year the racetrack is known as Ascot.
King Charles has developed a fervent passion for the thoroughbred since developing the same racing and breeding interests of late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The race-loving King regularly attends England’s famous Royal Ascot meeting and celebrated with a winner there last year with Desert Hero in the prestigious King George V Stakes.\
King Charles III had been ordered by doctors to scale back his proposed Australian visit later this year as he continues chemotherapy for his cancer.
His Majesty will tour Australia and Samoa but a planned visit to New Zealand was cancelled on doctors’ advice.
His first tour of Australia as monarch – and the first to the realm by a British king – has been cut back to three days of public engagements prior to attending the Commonwealth Heads Of Government meeting in Samoa starting on October 21.
Earlier this year, the King’s principal private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, was in Sydney on a reconnaissance of the royal tour.
It is understood senior Minns Government officials had been lobbying for The King to visit Sydney in October.
The King’s Australian leg of the tour will last up to two days before His Majesty travels to Samoa next Wednesday for three days. The tour will be the first time a Royal has visited the Commonwealth realm since Queen Elizabeth II in 2011.
King Charles has already made 15 visits to Australia, the last being in 2018 to open the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
A spokesman for Chris Minns maintained he never booked tickets for the Everest meeting.
OPERA HOUSE TO BE LIT UP
On Tuesday, Premier Chris Minns said attending the race meet was the most “fun thing” the King could do on the first weekend of his royal visit.
“I’m not going to make that demand of him but I have had a look at the royal itinerary and I understand he has Saturday off,” the Premier said.
“I couldn’t think of a more fun thing to do than go to the Everest on a Saturday afternoon, but that’s up to him.”
This comes as the Premier confirmed the sail of the Opera House will be lit up this Friday at 8pm in honour of the King and the Queen. The move comes after the government came under fire for refusing to light the sails in honour of the King’s coronation in May this year.
Mr Minns said he would light the Opera House for this visit as the King was physically in the country.
“I’ve made the point previously in relation to the Opera House, when it comes to events that are taking place in Sydney that will be our primary objective,” he said.
“The King is coming to Sydney and we obviously want to make sure he is warmly welcomed and that is what we’re going to do.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that the decision to light the Opera House was not to say sorry for failing to light it back in May.
“It’s as a gesture of respect to the role that they have in our constitution and in our democracy,” he said.
“Whether or not you’re a republican, whether or not you’re a monarchist I think that most people would agree we should be showing respect to the King and the Queen when they arriv
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