Queen Camilla braved some of the first heavy rain in weeks to attend the Sky Bet Ebor Festival at York Racecourse.
Camilla was announced as “the most welcome visitor here at York today” as she arrived at the North Yorkshire venue during a downpour. The Queen, who became patron of the course in 2024, wore a blue straw feathered Philip Treacy hat, an Anna Valentine blue dress and a Jockey Club brooch.
Meeting Retiring Jockey and Unsung Heroes
She met retiring jockey Joe Fanning, who made a full recovery from prostate cancer at the end of last year, on the day she revealed how difficult it had been keeping the King’s cancer diagnosis a secret. As the Queen arrived at the venue she met “unsung heroes” of the racecourse, including a member of the St John Ambulance who has volunteered for 50 years.
She also met representatives from local organisations Bereaved Children Support York, Friends of Rowntree Park and racehorse rehoming charity New Beginnings.
Parachute Display and Trophy Presentation
Camilla watched from a box as the RAF Falcons display team performed a parachute display, before taking a salute. The rain had been replaced with blue skies as she met Gold Cup-winning jockey Fanning on the pre-parade ring.
The 55-year-old had been honoured with a special presentation after announcing his desire to retire last month after almost 40 years. His career had been put on hold when he was discovered to have prostate cancer, undergoing surgery earlier this year and subsequently making a full recovery. He said he and the Queen had discussed the fact that some of her own horses would be racing at the venue later in the week, and described her as a “nice woman”.
It came on the day a short film was released by Buckingham Palace and Maggie’s cancer charity, where the Queen spoke for the first time about the difficult emotional experience of keeping the King’s cancer a secret before it was announced to the rest of the world.
Later, Camilla presented the trophy to the winner of the feature race the Juddmonte International Stakes – one of the world’s premier middle-distance races.
