Another Royal Ascot has come and gone. The centuries-old horse racing event welcomed high-profile spectators, including King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and Prince William, over its five-day run, which ended on Saturday.
The 76-year-old king looked hale and hearty as he helped wrap up the event, tipping his hat to attendees with Camilla by his side upon entering the parade ground via carriage.
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended every day of this year’s event, even as he continues treatments for an undisclosed form of cancer. Joining them in the carriage on Saturday were horse trainer Mark Prescott and actor Lizzie Spender (the latter of whom might be familiar to Anjelica Houton fans as the childhood friend Houston’s father, director John Huston, doted on to an uncomfortable degree).
Also in attendance on day five was Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Andrew, perhaps best known for the number of scandals in which he’s been embroiled, skipped this year’s race (as he has many—but not all—royal engagements in recent years). Ferguson attended the event earlier in the week, alongside daughter Princess Beatrice, as well as Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank.
Prince William and Kate Middleton were expected to attend, but “abruptly” canceled, as Vanity Fair reported last week. “The princess is disappointed not to be there today,” a royal source said, “but she has to find the right balance as she fully returns to public-facing engagements.”
Instead, William arrived on Wednesday with the king and queen, just days before his 43rd birthday (June 21) and days after his entire family turned out for 2025’s Trooping the Colour event. In fact, it’s that confluence of events that might have spurred Middleton’s absence.
“Catherine would have loved to be at Ascot. It’s always a fun day out, but the UK is having a heatwave, and she is trying to pace herself,” a friend of the princess told VF last week. “Trooping and the Garter were big occasions and very important dates in the royal calendar that the Princess wanted to be at. She was there and looked wonderful and played her part.”
Meanwhile, the king and queen endured the heat to present the owners of French runner Lazzat with the trophy in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. But not before Lazzat attempted to pull a Princess Cate of his own, unshipping jockey James Doyle (who was uninjured) and taking off down the Ascot course, as handlers scrambled to contain him.
“He’s a funny character,” trainer Jerome Reynier said. “That is why he is Lazzat, and he is our champion.”
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