Zara and Mike Tindall join royals for first day of Ascot
Watch: Mike Tindall loves looking after his son!
Zara and Mike Tindall have joined her uncle, Prince Charles, and her mother, Princess Anne, at day one of Royal Ascot in Berkshire.
The Queen is not expected to attend the annual race gathering until later in the week, but she has horses in races on many days and will likely be watching avidly from home.
Zara is an Olympian equestrian and shares a love of horses with her grandmother, the Queen, as well as Princess Anne.
She and husband Tindall welcomed their third child, a boy, earlier this year, and this is one of their first happy public events since baby Lucas's arrival.
They were both in attendance at the funeral of Prince Philip in April.
Tindall revealed details of the birth of their son on his podcast, The Good, the Bad, and the Rugby, telling his co-hosts that Zara gave birth on their bathroom floor.
The royal was spotted out in May at the Cirencester Park International Horse Trials with baby Lucas in a pram.
But she has kept a low-profile since the birth of her first son.
The sport-loving couple celebrated Cheltenham Races back in March at home, as the event had to take place behind closed doors.
Read more: Duchess of Cambridge reveals they're keeping chickens as pets – which they hatched from eggs
But former rugby player Tindall looked pleased to be back at an in-person event on Tuesday, as he and Zara made up some of the 12,000 racegoers allowed at the Ascot racecourse in Berkshire.
Also there from the royal contingent were Prince Charles and Camilla, Zara's mother Princess Anne and the Countess of Wessex.
The royals would usually arrive by horse drawn carriage, but this year, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were driven in by car.
The duchess wore a cream shift dress with a blue ribbon effect coat by Bruce Oldfield, with a matching face covering.
Her hat is by Philip Treacy, a milliner used regularly by members of the Royal Family.
Read more: Duchess of Cambridge says COVID made her value family connections even more
The Queen has stayed away for day one of Ascot, usually a favourite event in her annual calendar, but is believed to be keen to attend later in the week.
John Warren, her racing manager, told Radio 4: "It’s remarkable.
"The Queen’s energy levels are incredible.
"She’s 95.
"She went down to the G7 this week, and trundled back on the train in the middle of the night and the energy will be raised higher again for a week like Ascot."
He added: "Obviously the Queen would love to attend, as you know she’s fanatic about racing, watching racing and breeding horses, and has been going to Ascot all of her adult life.
"So, it’s a shame to miss an event.
"The plan at the moment is to see how it goes towards the latter part of the week and if the Queen’s able to come because she’s got runners, then, fingers crossed, it will happen."
She had a runner, King’s Lynn, in the 15.40 King’s Stand Stakes. He came seventh.
But instead of a day at the races, she carried out her first in-person audience for more than a year as she hosted Australian prime minister Scott Morrison in the Oak Room of Windsor Castle.
She has been holding them virtually, with ambassadors and attendees appearing via video link from Buckingham Palace.
However following her tea with Joe Biden at Windsor on Sunday, Morrison became the first head of state to attend an in-person audience since March 2020.
The Queen's daughter-in-law, Camilla, also revealed the monarch's love of the sport in more depth in an interview with ITV.
She said: "Well I think this is her passion in life and she loves it, and you can tell how much she loves it.
"She could tell you every horse she’s bred and owned from the very beginning – she doesn’t forget anything. I can hardly remember what I bred a year ago but she’s encyclopaedic about her knowledge."
Royal Ascot takes place over five days, beginning on Tuesday.
