- For the first time since becoming monarch, King Charles III won big at the Royal Ascot.
- Charles was visibly in his feelings after his victory at the five-day UK horse racing event.
King Charles III was visibly in his feelings after securing his first win at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The monarch, 74, was photographed with tears in his eyes as he watched his horse, Desert Hero, win the King George V Stakes race on day three of the five-day annual horse-racing event held in Ascot, England. Accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla in the Royal Box, Charles appeared overcome with emotion looking on as the victory unfolded.
What's more, the triumph carried certain sentimental attachments. Charles' winning horse – ridden by jockey Tom Marquand – was actually bred and gifted to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was also passionate about thoroughbreds, the Guardian reported.
At the time of her death in September 2022, the Queen owned over 100 horses. She was also hugely successful among the racing circles – research conducted by OLBG, a sports betting community, showed that since 1988 she entered 3,441 races and won 566 of them in the UK. At Royal Ascot alone, the Queen managed to produce 24 winners over the 60 years her horses participated, the Telegraph reported.
And clearly, Charles has inherited the Queen's passion for the hobby.
His excitement to have a Royal Ascot winner seemingly could not be contained as photographs taken during the award segment of the event showed Charles accidentally knocking over the silver winner's trophy that he and Camilla were presented.
Camilla and Charles are far from the only members of the royal family that have attended Royal Ascot this year before it comes to a close on Saturday.
Princess Anne, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, Zara Tindall, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, have also been pictured enjoying the festivities throughout the week. Per tradition and in keeping with the event's strict dress code, they've all been stepping out in their most elegant fashion and biggest hats.
Tindall called her uncle's victory at the races "bittersweet" in an interview with ITV Racing at Royal Ascot.
"To think how proud our grandmother would have been," she added. "But, you know, to have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep the dream alive was incredible. And what a race."