Grant Harrold is a former royal butler to King Charles, the Queen and many other senior figures in the royal family, who oversaw his fair share of Royal Ascots during his years of service.
Speaking to BoyleSports, he revealed that Royal Ascot was like Christmas for the Queen - who would even turn down a wedding or other family event for the horse racing fixture. Grant also said that His Majesty may not be as present at the Royal meeting as his late mother and will only go out of a sense of duty, claiming that the real passion for racing in the royal family now lies with Camila, Princess Anne and Zara Tindall.
Mr Harrold said of the Queen: "I know for absolute fact that she put bets on. I don't think she would put anything silly on, like she wouldn’t put thousands or hundreds of thousands. Just literally, I don't know, £10 or £20.
"She would have put a bet on and she wouldn’t have been silly with it. But definitely, if you were with her, you would have probably been advised to put a bet on one of her horses. Don’t do what I did with my previous boss - I put a bet on someone else’s horse, which isn’t the done thing - it’s bad etiquette."
He claimed that the Queen prioritised racing over family and Ascot was "like Christmas", adding: "It was with her family and it was with the horses, which were everything to her. She used to go off, I say secretly, not really secretly because we've seen it, she would go off to stables all the time with Polo mints and go and check on the horses. Even when in her final year and after she stopped riding, she was still going to check on them. She was a lover of horses, ponies and Ascot, she loved racing.
"Would she turn down an invitation for a child’s christening? Possibly, because she loved horses. It wouldn't surprise me. I hate to say it, but if you guys were getting married or if you were off to a child’s christening, I think the racing would come first.
"That was her love, her horses. It depends how important it was and if it was something to do with the Crown and the country, she never ever turned back on that. That always came first and I always say that family came second.
"But I think you could secretly put in the horse racing side of life very close to that because that's what she did. I'm sure there'll be evidence, there'll be something out there, that the Queen didn’t turn up for something that she was supposed to and was spotted at the racing. That wouldn't surprise me at all."
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However, Mr Harrold said the King isn't as excited about Royal Ascot and would go out of duty more than anything.
He said: "He rides and he's got a love for the animals as well, but the racing part was much his mother's passion. I'm not saying he doesn't have a flutter, but it’s not something you would go to. However, his wife, the new Queen, loves horse racing.
"In fact, we often see her at Cheltenham. I think it’ll be between her and Princess Anne who will be the ones that champion the racing side of the royal family going forward. Anne has always been a lover along with her daughter Zara.
"I think the new Queen will be the one maybe stepping forward in that role and presenting the prizes. I think the King will present the prize, but who knows? Maybe the new Queen will be given that honour as she is more of a lover of racing.
"The late Queen would always be at every royal event, but I don't know how often the now-King will be there. I would definitely see it with more of his mother’s and his sister’s sport.
"We see him at it, so it’s not as if he doesn’t go to them. I think it's more something that he'll probably go because it’s his duty to go, it's something it's expected the royal family to do. I think it's fair to say that it was very much his mother's sport."
Mr Harrold also spoke of the royal procession, which took place on Tuesday.
He said: "The family leaves from Windsor then have the grand procession down the park to Ascot. It’s horse-drawn carriages and the procession is very much part of Ascot, you know, seeing all the royals turning up. From what I know, guests get invited to have lunch and after lunch they get into the carriages, they go to Ascot and go into the royal box.
"I can guarantee that when they arrive there'll be drinks and canapes. Then it’s very much all about watching the races. The problem is if you go out onto the balcony, the world media can see you at that point. Inside you can have a bit more privacy.
"The kind of people that get invited are obviously members of the royal family and close friends. I want to say associates, probably organisations or people that they've got connections with, they get invited, but it's quite a big event. To go in the carriages is a really, really high profile thing. To be invited there, it is a bit of a royal endorsement and approval.
"I've noted that my former bosses, the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, have been in the carriages a few times. In fact, I think last year they were in the carriages on more than one occasion, which is really good. If you get invited into the carriages and you're there more than once, it’s safe to say that you’re definitely in there."
