Queen Elizabeth II Misses Royal Ascot Opening Day Due to Health Concerns

The Royal Ascot Horse Racing Festival kicked off on Tuesday, but the Queen was conspicuously absent from the opening day of the customary event.

The 96-year-old monarch has drastically altered her annual calendar due to health concerns, and this year marks the second time she has missed the races since 1952, except for last year's event, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Queen's notable absence from the opening day of the proceedings was marked by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla replacing his mother as leading members of the Royal Family.

Other Royals including Sophie Wessex, Princess Beatrice, and Zara and Mike Tindall were seen enjoying their day at the races.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall took part in the traditional carriage procession along the course before racing began.

They were joined in their carriage by Princess Anne's son, Peter Phillips, with Anne following along in another carriage.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were among the members of the Royal Family who rode in the second carriage.

For a short time before the procession, Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mosi, were photographed as they made their way through the course's gates.

She was subsequently seen conversing with her cousin Zara Tindall, who came with her husband Mike at the racetrack.

Meanwhile, snapped in the Royal Box alongside Charles and Camilla was Sophie Wessex, who wore a huge stylish hat along with a baby pink dress.

She was pictured giving her brother-in-law Charles a kiss on the cheek before the pair shared a joke together.

And although they are not Royal but have a strong Royal connection, the Duchess of Cambridge's mum and dad, Carol and Michael Middleton, were also spotted in the grandstands at Royal Ascot today.

Despite the Queen being missing from the opening day of Royal Ascot, she did pen a note for the official programme, where she hailed the event as a thrilling experience for race-goers.

She wrote, “After the challenges of recent times, this year's Royal Meeting provides a long-awaited opportunity for supporters of racing from all over the world to come together for five days of outstanding sport.

Once again, it is thrilling that horses from around the globe have travelled to Royal Ascot to compete at the highest level.”

Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, Her Majesty was a regular at the Berkshire Racetrack and has attended every Royal Meeting since 1952, except for the one held in 2020.

However, the 96-year-old monarch will likely be watching from home just seven miles away at Windsor Castle this afternoon, especially when her horse, King's Lynn, races in the King's Stand Stakes.

The Queen, who has owned 22 winners of races at Royal Ascot, was among race-goers attending last year, after it was selected to take part in the Government's Events Research Programme on behalf of the sport of racing.

She was absent from the opening day of last year's races, but returned to view her horses in the parade ring after they had crossed the finish line with her racing manager, John Warren.

As a keen horse breeder, the Queen has a number of horses competing at this week's Royal Ascot.

The Queen's absence from the first day of Royal Ascot comes as the monarch was forced to skip the special Platinum Jubilee Epsom Derby, which had been factored in as an official event in her June Jubilee weekend.

The Queen was due to attend the event on the Saturday of the long weekend, but owing to some slight discomfort incurred during her Buckingham Palace balcony appearance on June 2, she did not appear in public again until the closing of the celebrations on June 5.

The Queen's non-attendance at Royal Ascot signifies a greater change to her annual diary, which has been completely overhauled since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

The traditional events which went on to make up the Queen's official diary, and at which the public would be guaranteed to see her, included Royal Ascot, the Royal Monde Service, Commonwealth Day Service, and the Remembrance Sunday wreath laying at the Cenotaph in London, have all been disrupted.

The new working model sees the Queen no longer residing at Buckingham Palace, instead living full time at Windsor Castle, from where she undertakes the majority of her work.

The Queen has also reduced the number of public appearances she makes, deciding on the day if she feels able to attend.

This complete overhaul of the Queen's working schedule, which has changed little from 1952 to 2022, has come as a result of a series of health scares experienced by the monarch last autumn and what Buckingham Palace has officially termed episodic mobility problems.

Following Prince Philip's death in 2021, the Queen began using a walking stick in October of that year and has been increasingly spotted doing so ever since.

Earlier this year, the Queen added to her arsenal of mobility aids by purchasing a golf cart called the Queen Mobile.

The Royal Mews chauffeur initially drove the cart for the Queen on the opening day of the Chelsea Flower Show in May.

Perhaps the most important royal event that the Queen has not attended due to health and mobility problems was the State Opening of Parliament in May, at which she was represented by Prince Charles and Prince William in their positions as Councillors of State.

Yesterday the Queen was pictured with Charles and Camilla to mark the Order of the Garter Service, with the monarch dressed in a silver white gown and her blue garter sash and holding a walking stick.

The photograph was taken at Windsor Castle yesterday ahead of the Garter Service in St George's Chapel.

On the Queen's arm was a matching silver handbag and in her hand her glasses.

She was also wearing her Garter Star Badge, her bow brooch, and silver shoes.

The Queen did not take part in the traditional procession of garter knights and ladies through the grounds of the Berkshire Castle.

In a move that formalises the new working practice of the monarch, the Queen's diary of events is no longer published in advance by Buckingham Palace, so the public does not know if or when they can expect to see her.

A hybrid working model sees the Queen undertake a blend of in-person engagements from Windsor Castle and digital video conferences which allow her to speak with representatives from Commonwealth realms such as Canada and Australia.

What this means for the royal pomp and pageantry of in-person royal events such as Royal Ascot and the State Opening of Parliament is that the public will see more of Charles and Camilla standing in the Queen's place.