Buckingham Palace aides have launched a major military-style operation alongside horse racing chiefs aimed at getting the Queen to the Epsom Derby to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.
The plan is aimed at giving Her Majesty "every single chance” of attending “in complete comfort” one of her favourite events of the year.
The frail monarch, who turns 96 tomorrow, has been forced to pull out of several major events in recent months due to ongoing mobility issues, including the Easter church services which she hadn't missed for more than 50 years.
She summoned all her might to attend a memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month for her beloved late husband Prince Philip, after his funeral was scaled back last year due to covid restrictions.
Racing chiefs at Epsom racecourse are in constant contact with the Queen's senior advisors to devise a "fluid plan" involving an incredible range of options to get her to the sporting event on June 4.
As well as working on a way to welcome the Queen to the event, attended by 35,000 people in the arena with tens of thousands more in the wider area who can attend for free, in recognition of her incredible association with horse racing The Queen's Stand at Epsom will be permanently renamed The Queen Elizabeth II Stand.
As a special thank you, a guard of honour will also be formed on the track by 40 retired and current jockeys to have ridden for Her Majesty, dressed in the monarch’s famous purple and gold silks, to greet her arrival.
Organisers have devised two ways of allowing the Queen's State Bentley to drive as close as possible to the main doors at the racecourse, to ensure the Queen would have no more than 20 metres to walk to a lift that would take her up to the Royal Box.
It is hoped she would be able to walk to the private box where she would be able to sit and watch the racing in comfort.
Royal sources have also suggested six-foot privacy screens or even a football-style tunnel could be erected to prevent photographers from capturing her as she leaves the car.
A source said: "The Queen will be doing everything she can to be there to watch the Derby in person.
"She had dedicated much of her life to horse racing and her passion for the sport, the animals and the people around it runs incredibly deep.
"Every effort is being made so Her Majesty has every single chance of attending in complete comfort as there will be so many people who want to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee with her and wish her well."
The Queen has previously ruled out the option of using a wheelchair at this stage and remains determined to continue to walk for as long as possible.
She is currently using a £64,000 golf cart driving around the Windsor Castle estate to get about and walk her dogs.
Astonishingly the Queen has never had a winner in the Derby, regarded as one of the world's premier races, coming second only once in 1953, just weeks after her Coronation.
The welcoming party of jockeys will include 79 year old four-time Derby winner Willie Carson, who also rode The Queen’s Oaks winner Dunfermline in 1977, and John Reid, who won The Derby in 1992. Current riders joining the line-up will include Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore, both of whom have won The Derby twice, and another of The Queen’s regular jockeys, Hayley Turner.
The Derby – known as the world’s greatest and most prestigious Flat race - remains the only one of the five ‘Classics’ Her Majesty is yet to win as a racehorse owner, despite having finished second with Aureole in 1953 just four days after her Coronation and third in 2011 with Carlton House, who was her 10th runner in the race and the last horse to contest The Derby in her colours.
Jockey Willie Carson, 79, who won The Derby four times and also rode Her Majesty The Queen’s filly Dunfermline to win two Classics in 1977, said it had been the privilege of his career to ride for the monarch.
He said: “When you put The Queen’s colours on, especially at Epsom, a jockey would grow six inches. It makes you feel important when you put those colours on. The Queen is the most famous woman in the whole wide world, so you're privileged.
“She's the patron of racing. Without her we would be a little bit lost, because her patronage is a very valuable thing.
“It's not just the horseracing she enjoys, she enjoys the breeding side of it. She likes to know from trainers how the horse is behaving and its attitude, its temperament. She wants to know those things. That's what she's really interested in. The winning post is the end result and she enjoys that, of course, but she enjoys everything before you get to the winning post. That gives her the most pleasure.”
It is hoped that Her Majesty, who is Patron of The Jockey Club, will also have a runner in this year’s Derby, with three horses currently entered in the race – Educator, General Idea and Reach For The Moon.
A victory for Her Majesty would be only the second time a reigning monarch has won The Derby, after Minoru in 1909 who ran for King Edward VII.
Phil White, London Regional Director at The Jockey Club, said: "We are absolutely delighted that this year’s Cazoo Derby will be a part of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations and excited and proud to be able to take the opportunity to thank Her Majesty The Queen for her enormous contribution to horseracing over many, many years.”
Asked what it would mean to see The Queen at this year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Derby Day, champion jockey Hayley Turner who has ridden many times for Her Majesty, said: "It would be amazing for The Queen.
"It would be great to be involved, but it would be so special for her because horseracing is her passion."
Meanwhile, an elegant flower display inspired by the Queen's coronation gown will be created as part of a "Superbloom" at the Tower of London this summer.
