Queen Camilla’s chat with TV icon at Ascot finale
King Charles and Queen Camilla cap off an action-packed week at Ascot, with a Hollywood heavyweight making a surprise appearance.
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The sun hardly shone on the final day at Ascot but the King and Queen Camilla beamed as their carriage swept through the wrought iron gates of the Berkshire meet for the traditional procession.
The royal couple put on a scaled down show on the fifth day of the world exclusive races, waving regally to racegoers applauding their 2pm arrival.
The King, 75, looking dapper in a morning suit, and the Queen flushed in pale pink, were joined in their carriage by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani of Qatar, an avid art collector once described as the “insatiable treasure hunter of world civilisations”, and Lady Charles Spencer-Churchill.
Dudley House, the London home of Sheikh Hamad, the former emir of Qatar, is believed to be Britain’s most expensive private residence.
The late Queen Elizabeth II — who rarely missed the Berkshire meet — once commented on the £330 million ($A644 million) house while dining there in 2015, “This place makes Buckingham Palace look rather dull.”
Keen for the fun of a flutter and to watch the country’s top jockeys and horses compete, the King was seen thumbing through the race pamphlet in his carriage while tipping his top hat to the crowds.
Their carriage was followed by trainers Willie Mullins and Jamie Snowden, and their wives, as well as the Earl De La War, accountant and courtier Sir Michael Stevens and Saudi businessman Wafic Said.
Charles and Camilla’s horse Hard to Resist was a longshot in the Sandringham Stakes on Friday with odds of 40-1, and finished way adrift of the leading riders.
Two royal horses entered for the final day of Royal Ascot, with Desert Hero expected to start in the Hardwicke Stakes and Treasure in the Golden Gates Stakes.
Actor Henry Winkler, who played the Fonz in Happy Days, was seen mingling among the crowds and enjoyed meeting Queen Camilla before presenting the winning connections of the Jersey Stakes with their trophy.
While the royals mingled with crowds in the royal enclosure, a vicious brawl between racegoers erupted nearby leaving one person caked in blood.
Crowds looked on aghast exclaiming “easy, easy” as two men in suits wrestled on the ground while another holding a glass containing a pale yellow drink tried to pull them apart. One of the men was led away holding a heavily bloodied nose.
The previous day, boozy Brits were out in force at the racecourse stumbling around after a night’s drinking.
The King and Queen were seen watching agog from the royal box above as thousands of racegoers downed giant jugs of Pimms and pints of lager.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have become avid supporters of Royal Ascot since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who rarely missed a Berkshire meet, the jewel in the crown of Britain’s racing calendar.
The King only missed one day — Wednesday — of the five-day meet due to his ongoing cancer treatment.
The annual races were established after Queen Anne declared in 1711 Ascot was ideal for “horses to gallop at full stretch”.
Earlier on Saturday there had been some lively betting on the colour of the monarch’s hat, with Ladbrokes taking punts on what colour headwear Camilla would be sporting.
Best of Bets, who keep an eagle eye on the novelty market, wrote on X: “Away from the betting ring, bookmakers are continuing the tradition of betting on the colour of the Queen’s hat. Having worn three different shades of blue this week, punters are convinced that Queen Camilla will be dressed in pink for the final day of the royal meeting.”
They were right.
JAUNTY CHARLES RAISES TOP HAT TO BOISTEROUS CHEER AT ASCOT
The whispers at Ascot were that Taylor Swift would show up but in the end King Charles and Queen Camilla dominated when they led the carriage procession on the penultimate day of the famed race meet.
Although appearing slightly red-eyed, the monarch appeared in fine fettle as he and the Queen waved enthusiastically to racegoers from their carriage alongside Lord and Lady Bamford in the traditional procession.
The royal, who is still in treatment for cancer, cut a dapper silhouette in a grey morning suit, jaunty pink waistcoat and obligatory top hat, which he raised to an especially boisterous crowd who cheered as his carriage drove past.
As the wind blew across the famous racecourse, the Queen held onto her plumed hat and chuckled with spectators who told her to “watch out ma’am” when it nearly flew off.
The royals at Ascot were closely followed in the procession by Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo ‘Edo’ Mapelli Mozzi, and Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, who travelled together.
Princess Beatrice, 35, paraded a striking A$10,800 Emilia Wickstead green Brita dress, and lemon clutch bag and a Juliette Botterill percher headwear.
Edo co-ordinated with a lemon waistcoat under his morning suit.
Retired Prima Ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell and her husband Angus Forbes chatted animatedly with the King in the royal enclosure, while Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips, 46, was seen in a tactile display with his new girlfriend, nurse Harriet Sperling.
Teetering on the lawn were Lady Frederick Windsor in a royal blue jacket dress and her husband Lord Frederick Windsor.
The King and Queen’s horse, Hard to Resist, ran in the Sandringham Stakes, with odds of 40-1. It came in 22nd.
The couple took on the late Queen’s thoroughbreds after her death and last year had their first Royal Ascot winner, when Desert Hero triumphed in the King George V Stakes.
Among the celebrities presenting the racing prizes were actress Dame Maureen Lipman and the author Dame Jilly Cooper.
But as the day went on, hopes of seeing Swift at the event faded. The track’s director of racing Nick Smith took to X to announce in the afternoon he had given up hope of seeing Taylor Swift at the races after inviting her, writing, “We don’t think Taylor Swift, who is in London this week, will be in the royal procession but she is (still) welcome to get along to Royal Ascot.”
Instead the singer was welcomed to London by Buckingham Palace with a special Changing of the Guard where troops at the Palace trumpeted a special rendition of the singer’s 2014 hit, Shake It Off.
The Royal Family tweeted a video of the troops performing alongside the caption: “Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’”.
The singer is scheduled to perform her Eras tour at Wembley stadium on Friday night local time, the first of a staggering eight-show run at the venue.
Transport for London (TFL) also recognised the singer’s visit to the capital with a Taylor Swift version of the underground map that had swapped names of regular stations and lines with references to Swift’s music.
TFL wrote on X: “And by the way, I’m going out tonight. Introducing Tube Map (Taylor’s Version)”.
Ascot, the glamorous spectacle at the jewel in the crown of the UK racing calendar, was a far cry from the violence that had broken out the previous night when police were forced to break up brawls in the evening.
Inebriated revellers were seen splayed on the ground while others staggered around wildly drunk in the Berkshire town.
A brawl erupted at a car park in the grounds resulting in two men being arrested. Another was seen at a bar outside at around 9pm.
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Originally published as Queen Camilla’s chat with TV icon at Ascot finale
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