Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh attends Royal Ascot with her dad Christopher Rhys Jones,.Photo:Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburghwas all smiles at Royal Ascot with a VIP: her dad!
The duchess and her dad did not arrive in the Royal Procession, which sawKing CharlesandQueen Camillalead the charge of horse-drawn carriages for the third day in a row.Princess Annetraveled behind the King and Queen in the second carriage, whilePrincess Margaret’s two children were also in the cavalcade. Margaret’s son David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdown, joined Charles and Camilla in their landau, while her daughter Lady Sarah Chatto traveled in the third carriage with her husband, Daniel.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh attends Royal Ascot with her dad Christopher Rhys Jones.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
Thursday was a thoughtful day for the Duchess of Edinburgh to take her dad to Ascot. The third day is Gold Cup Day — also known as Ladies' Day — is the oldest and most prestigious race of the event and drew 60,000 spectators.
Sophie and Christopher have attended favorite royal horse races together in the past, from various Ascot events to the Cheltenham Festival Race Meeting. On Thursday, the duo saw a royal horserace to victory, when King Charles and Queen Camilla’s 3-year-old colt Desert Hero secured a first-place finish in the King George V Stakes race.
The King, 74, and Queen, 75, animatedly followed the race from the royal box and had the honor of accepting the trophy from a fellow member of the royal family:Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, the Duke of Kent.
“To think how proud our grandmother the Queen would have been, but to have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep the dream alive was incredible,” she said.
The late Queen, who died in September at age 96, was a passionate horsewoman and racing enthusiast. Her eldest son and successor inherited her horses upon her death, and Desert Hero’s victory marked something of a full-circle moment. Queen Elizabeth was also in luck at the first Royal Ascot after her coronation in June 1953 when her horse Choir Boy sprinted to a win,The Timesreported. Queen Elizabeth went on to attend Ascot almost every year of her royal reign and 24 of her racehorses would win there through the years.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Desert Hero’s success came arrived after another one of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Ascot entries caused a commotion on the track. On Tuesday, the jockey astride the couple’s horse Saga was slapped with a nine-day ban for careless riding in the Wolferton Stakes, where the duo finished fifth. The royal couple was laser focused while watching the race, where Camilla bit her nail and Charles raised a hand to his mouth.
source: people.com
