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Princess Anne and her daughter Zara Tindall celebrated day three of the Royal Ascot by leading the way during the event’s royal carriage procession.
Due to ongoing health and mobility issues, Queen Elizabeth has yet to attend the five-day horse race despite it being one of her favorite events of the year. Palace sources are also unable to confirm whether or not she will make an appearance at some point during the competition as the decision often isn’t made until just a few hours beforehand. But her daughter and granddaughter stepped up to take on this royal duty on her behalf, leading the parade of royals in their carriages around the track. They were also joined in the carriage by their respective husbands, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and Mike Tindall. Zara has a special connection to the races, as well, as she is a celebrated equestrian who won a silver medal as a member of the Great Britain equestrian eventing team at the London 2012 Olympics.
The mother-daughter duo and their husbands were followed by another carriage containing Lady Sarah Chatto, the daughter of the Queen’s late sister Princess Margaret, and her husband Daniel. A testament to her enthusiasm for the sport, the Queen also invited her racing manager John Warren and his wife Lady Carolyn, who pulled up the rear of the procession. Thursday is considered the Gold Cup Day of the Royal Ascot during which guests traditionally dress up in their boldest, most attention-grabbing dresses and fascinators.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall led the royal procession on the first two days of the horse racing event, with appearances from Princess Beatrice and Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips. On Tuesday, Kate Middleton‘s mother Carole Middleton also made an appearance on the first day of the Royal Ascot, borrowing a pink, color block maxi dress that the Duchess of Cambridge that the royal previously wore last year while visiting with a 5-year-old girl battling leukemia.
The Queen has three horses running in the races on Thursday. Her horse Saga will compete in the Britannia Stakes, Reach for the Moon will take part in the Hampton Court Stakes, and Tactical is running in the Buckingham Palace Stakes. The monarch has attended every Royal Ascot for the last seven decades of her reign, with the only exception being in 2020 when the event was held behind closed doors for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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