Queen to miss Epsom Derby
The Queen will be absent from the Derby for only the fourth time in 75 years after deciding that Covid restrictions would diminish her enjoyment of the classic race.
Although spectators will be allowed at Epsom on Saturday, the crowd will be limited to just a quarter of its usual size in ticketed areas. The famous hill, where up to 100,000 people normally stand to watch the race, will be closed.
Royal sources said the Queen had decided to watch the race on television because it will not be a "traditional Derby day".
The Telegraph understands that she will miss the Royal Ascot meeting later this month for the same reason, although she may decide to attend on specific days if she has a horse running in one of the races. Last year – when Ascot was held behind closed doors – was the first time the Queen had missed it in her entire reign.
The Derby, together with Ascot, is one of near-immovable dates in the Queen's diary for years in advance, but sources suggested that restrictions on how many people she will be able to entertain in her private box were a large part of the reason for her decision not to go this year.
The "rule of six" still applies to indoor hospitality, and face masks have to be worn indoors when people are not eating.
One source said: "It's a Derby, but it's not a traditional Derby day. It's not going to be what it normally is so the Queen has decided she would rather watch it at home."
The Queen first attended the Derby in 1946, when she was a 20-year-old princess, and since then has only missed three runnings of the classic race – last year, in 1984, when she was in France for the 40th anniversary of D-Day, and in 1956, when she made a state visit to Sweden.
Other members of the Royal family are expected to be at Royal Ascot this year, but there will be no carriage procession from nearby Windsor because the organisers and Buckingham Palace do not want to risk people crowding at the barriers to see the Royal family arrive.
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen will view a military parade in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle in a scaled-down version of Trooping the Colour to mark her official birthday on June 12.
The full-scale event in London has been cancelled for a second year because of Covid. The Household Division, the Scots Guards, the Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment will be among those taking part.
The Duke of Kent, Colonel of the Scots Guards, will accompany the Queen, and The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will fire a 41-gun royal salute from the East Lawn at Windsor Castle.
