It was an exciting day for King Charles and Queen Camilla at Royal Ascot on Thursday, as Their Majesties celebrated a win and Frankie Dettori earned a ninth Gold Cup victory ahead of his retirement.
The racing champion, 52, sprinted to the finish on the horse Courage Mon Ami and was later presented with the trophy by the King and Queen.
At the presentation, a jubilant Frankie was captured kissing Camilla on the cheek, before he threw the trophy in the air and just caught it before quickly returning to the table.
Queen Camilla looked elegant for her third appearance this week at the Berkshire racecourse. She wore a pale green chiffon dress by Anna Valentine with a feathered hat by Philip Treacy and a diamond brooch that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
She and the King were joined by the Duchess of Edinburgh and her father, Christopher Rhys-Jones, as well as the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and Mike and Zara Tindall.
Charles and Camilla appeared emotional as they watched their first Royal Ascot winner triumph, a thoroughbred called Desert Hero, in the King George V stakes.
As they watched the final moments of the race, run over a mile and four furlongs, the Queen waved her official programme in the air in excitement and Charles looked across at his wife in joy at the end.
The King’s niece, Zara, who joined him in the royal box, said afterward: “It’s bittersweet isn’t it, just think how proud and excited our grandmother would have been, the Queen would have been.
“To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and to keep that dream alive was incredible, and what a race – asides all of that, what a race.”
The equestrian mum-of-three added: “I think it is a new excitement [for the King], like all those owners who come here and have a horse here, having that dream, that hope and actually fulfilling it is incredible.
“And the horses are the main game here, that’s why we get involved and we love them and the competition, and the adrenaline when you win is indescribable.”
