Zara and Mike Tindall were missing from this year’s Trooping the Colour – but they’ve got a fun excuse for their noticeable absence.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to be in attendance at Royal Ascot today, with an expert previously lifting the lid on whether the royals can place their own bets.

Speaking to BoyleSports, former royal butler Grant Harrold shared that the late Queen loved Royal Ascot and that she “absolutely” put bets on.

Like his late mother, King Charles would likely do the same – especially as a key attendee at the annual event.

Mr Harrold said: “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.”

He added: “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.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla have four horses entered at Royal Ascot 2024.

Around 260,000 racegoers are expected to attend the racecourse today, with the royal couple expected amongst the crowd.

Royal Ascot is a key fixture in the royal calendar, with the late Queen being a huge fan of the event.

Mr Harrold also added that the late Queen often treated Royal Ascot like “Christmas” – and would even miss another royal event to make sure she could attend.

He said: “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.”

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King Charles enjoys Royal Ascot, but isn’t a huge fan like his late mother (Image: GETTY)

Speaking about King Charles, the former royal butler revealed that, unlike his late mother, King Charles doesn’t get as excited about Royal Ascot.

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.”