Royal Ascot is taking place from June 17 until June 21 in 2025, and several members of the Royal Family will be in attendance at the prestigious society event. According to a former royal butler, Kate Middleton and Prince William—along with other members of the Royal Family—are most likely to turn to one unexpected royal relative for advice when it comes to betting on the horses at Royal Ascot.
While Princess Kate sadly won't be attending this year, the Prince and Princess of Wales are regular attendees at the horse racing event, which welcomes approximately "300,000 over five days, all dressed up in their finest clothes and hats," per the Royal Family's website. "The royals are allowed to bet on horses," former royal butler Grant Harrold said on behalf of Spin Genie.
"In fact, the late Queen [Elizabeth] was famously known for betting on horses, and there's a clip of her winning a whole entire £20 [$27], which she was really excited about," Harrold shared. "They don't bet silly; they just bet what anyone else would put on...They like putting something on; it would be wrong not to."
Prince William and Kate Middleton at Ascot Racecourse on June 17, 2022.
As for which member of the Royal Family is an expert at picking winners, Harrold noted, "Queen Camilla is very much into horses. The King is, but I would say Camilla is more so, along with Princess Anne. If you're going to be taking advice on which horses, I would look at Camilla for a good tip."
Harrold—who served as King Charles's personal butler at Highgrove for more than 6 years—also reflected on Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Ascot legacy, which is likely to loom large for her children. "Horse racing is a great tradition within the family—royals and horses go back centuries," Harrold explained. "I'm sure [King Charles] won't be able to go to Ascot and not think of the late Queen, his mother. That was a huge highlight of her year."
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne arriving at Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2018.
The former royal butler further explained, "While King Charles isn't as much of a bettor or racegoer as his mother, he has always had an association with horses, especially when he did fox hunting. Often he's seen out riding horses, and he's had a great love of them. He even had horses at Highgrove until a few years ago. The association has always been there." Harrold continued, "He will definitely keep the tradition of horses going within the family."
