All the King's horses

As Charles attends his first major race meeting as monarch this week at Ascot, NEIL CLARK looks back at the long and splendid history of royals and the turf

- 

HE MAY not be quite as keen on the sport as his late mother, but by attending the prestigious Royal Ascot race meeting this week for the first time as ruling monarch, King Charles III is maintaining a long and proud tradition.

Last year, Charles and Camilla led the Royal Procession at Ascot while the Queen watched the action from home. They were joined by Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Zara and Mike Tindall and Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

This year Charles will be there with the Queen Consort as more than simply a standin for his late mother.

Indeed, their Majesties are likely to be at Ascot for much of this week and are expected to watch their runner, Saga, in the Wolferton Stakes at 5.35pm today.

In fact, without the patronage of the Kings of England down the centuries, we probably wouldn't have regulated, organised horse racing or at least not at the same level as we have it today. Back in the Middle Ages, English monarchs were keen on "running horses". But it was during the reign of Henry VIII in the early 16th century that formal race meetings are thought to have begun.

Usually remembered as the King with a penchant for divorcing his wives, Henry was also a skilled horseman who rode dressage.

He set up Royal studs for breeding and also had his own racing stable at Greenwich which housed up to 200 horses.

He imported mares for breeding from overseas and banned the export of horses from England. Henry's state breeding programme wasn't just about sport: massive losses of horses during the Wars of the Roses meant England had to build its equine stock up again in case of future wars.