The Queen looked to be on good form as she enjoyed a day at Ascot, just hours after Prince Andrew announced he was giving up his titles.
Queen Camilla headed to the Qipco British Champions Day on October 18 where she was joined by Zara Tindall.
It was the first royal public appearance since Buckingham Palace released a statement from Prince Andrew. He said he was giving up all his titles and honours as as he said that ”continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal family.”
The Queen appeared relaxed and happy as she chatted to the royal racing manager, John Warren.
Later, Her Majesty presented trophies following the running of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. It was won by Cicero’s Gift ridden by Jason Watson.
Zara Tindall was also on presentation duties. She handed over the prizes after the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes with jockey Jamie Spencer winning on Powerful Glory.
The two royal women were colour co-ordinated, both choosing shades of blue for the day at Ascot. Queen Camilla was in a pale duck egg two piece skirt suit with a cream trilby style hat with duck egg band.
Zara Tindall chose a navy blue coat with a burgundy headband style hat with feather details.
The appearances came after Prince Andrew put out a surprise statement in which he said he was giving up all his royal titles. He has been Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh since July 1986 when the titles were given to him on his wedding day.
He stopped using his HRH in 2022.
In his statement, Prince Andrew said ”’In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal family.”
Andrew continued ”“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
He has also relinquished his membership of the Order of the Garter, the oldest chivalric order in the country.
His former wife will also drop her courtesy title, reverting to her maiden name of Sarah Ferguson.
The titles of their two daughters are unaffected by the change. They remain Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have been mired in further controversy for several months over their friendships with the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
An email came to light that had been sent by Sarah, asking Epstein for forgiveness after a previous interview in which she had disowned him. Correspondence between Prince Andrew and Epstein, dated after he said he had broken contact with him, has also been in the spotlight.
A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who said she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, is about to be published in which she claims he made her sign a gagging order to stop her publishing further allegations during the Platinum Jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Camilla and King Charles are now preparing to travel to the Vatican where they will carry out a State Visit next week.
