A winning horse trainer has revealed details of the moment he awkwardly snubbed King Charles ahead of the Australian’s triumphant win at Royal Ascot in London.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have stepped out for the colourful Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The ceremony comes just two days after celebrating the King’s official birthday at Trooping the Colour.
The traditional ceremony commemorating the ancient order of the garter has been held annually since 1948.
Mr Dwyer’s horse Asfoora on Tuesday evening became the sixth Australian winner of the renowned day-one race following thoroughbreds Miss Andretti and Nature Strip in 2022.
But the victory was not without the trainer, from Victoria’s suburb of Ballarat, having been forced to snub the monarch at the British Berkshire racecourse in London.
Australian trainer Henry Dwyer has spoken of the moment he snubbed King Charles in a forcibly shortened meet with the monarch. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Speaking to RSN from the backseat of a cab in England’s capital, Mr Dwyer said he was too busy to see through his arranged meeting with the King as he was gearing Asfoora for the win.
“I met the King before the race. I was saddling the horse up and we were under the pump, we were late to the mounting yard, and they were trying to drag me away,” he said.
“I said, ‘Can you just give me a break. I’ve got my biggest day of my life, I’m trying to saddle this horse up and get to the mounting yard in one piece’, and they said, ‘You’ve got to meet the King’ and I said ‘what?’”.
“So, they dragged me in there, I went into the mounting yard, and I said to the King, ‘Lovely to meet you Your Majesty’ and he said, ‘Where are you from?’ and I said ‘Ballarat’”.
Mr Dwyer then told the King “I don’t want to be short with you, Sir, but I’d rather talk to you after the race rather than before. Can we make that happen?’
Mr Dwyer then told the King “I don’t want to be short with you, Sir, but I’d rather talk to you after the race rather than before. Can we make that happen?’. Picture: Getty Images
“He said, ‘That would be terrific’. And we went in after the race and he had a good chat, and he was terrific. Very easy to talk to.”
“When are you going to talk to the King again … It was terrific”.
It comes as Asfoora had never won a Group 1 race before the annual race meeting’s 199th edition in which Charles and Camilla led an opening carriage procession.
The couple, with Camilla donning a cobalt blue ensemble, were joined in their carriage by the Duke and Duchess of Wellington as their other royal relatives Princess Anne, Peter Phillips and Lady Gabriella, 43, trailed behind in a second carriage.
King Charles also touchingly invited Lady Gabriella Kingston, who is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and 56th in line to the throne, to the event after her husband Thomas Kingston died earlier this year.