The King’s retreat to Sandringham marks the “post-Coronation regime change”, a royal expert has said. King Charles will miss the Royal Windsor Horse Show this week, an event that was annually attended by his late mother Queen Elizabeth. Last year, the monarch had to miss the event due to her illness but up until then, she had never missed it. But Charles is choosing not to attend following his busy weekend of Coronation events.
Writing for Daily Mail, Ephraim Hardcastle said: “The King’s retreat to Sandringham and absence from this week’s Royal Windsor Horse Show, an event cherished by his mother, poignantly marks the post-Coronation regime change.
“The first show in 1943, to raise money for the war effort, was attended by her [Queen Elizabeth], with sister Margaret and her parents.
“It raised enough to buy 78 Typhoon planes. As well as horses, dogs were involved but in 1944 a lurcher invaded the Royal enclosure and helped himself to some chicken from the King’s luncheon plate.
“George VI was volubly upset and canines were outlawed. The late Queen, a dog lover, maintained the ban and they’ve never been allowed since.”
A long-haul overseas trip is also expected, with the King’s attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in the South Pacific already confirmed.
Located halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii – almost 10,000 miles away – it will be a gruelling journey for the King and Queen who, by then, will be 75 and 76 respectively.
It is quite possible, then, that he will use the trip as an opportunity for stop-overs in Australia and New Zealand, both countries where he is still head of state and are long overdue for visits from senior royals.
The Queen is also making final preparations for her inaugural Reading Room Festival at Hampton Court Palace in west London next month now that her Instagram book club has become a charity promoting literacy.
