Racegoers hoping King and Queen will visit Royal Ascot

The late Queen was a passionate owner and breeder of thoroughbreds.

The King and Queen at Ascot last year (PA) (PA Archive)

Royal Ascot racegoers will be hoping the King and Queen join them for the opening day of the sporting event hosting some of the world’s best horses and jockeys.

Charles and Camilla, both fans of racing, are expected to make an appearance during the five-day meet in Berkshire, especially after the couple’s racing adviser said excitement was building in royal circles.

The late Queen was a passionate owner and breeder of thoroughbreds, and had more than 20 Royal Ascot winners during her 70-year reign.

And it appears Charles and his wife, who have taken on the late monarch’s thoroughbreds, will be carrying on her tradition and have entered a string of horses over the next five days.

John Warren, the King and Queen’s racing and bloodstock adviser, told the PA news agency: “We are hopeful the King and Queen will race through the week and they will be very much following their runners.

They are really very much looking forward to a wonderful week’s racing, which is tremendous. Everyone is excited by their participation and the fact they are really engaged and looking forward to it.

“The King understands the bigger picture. He is more than interested in racing. It is something he’d heard in osmosis all his life.

“What with the Queen’s enthusiasm, racing is lucky to have two great advocates, people who are engaged in the sport we all love.”

Racing’s poster boy Frankie Dettori, in his last year in the saddle before retirement, will wear the famous royal purple and scarlet colours at least twice this week, and said he would “love nothing better” than to ride a winner for the King and Queen at Royal Ascot.