Instead, William arrived on Wednesday with the king and queen, just days before his 43rd birthday (June 21) and days after his entire family turned out for 2025’s Trooping the Colour event. In fact, it’s that confluence of events that might have spurred Middleton’s absence.
“Catherine would have loved to be at Ascot. It’s always a fun day out, but the UK is having a heatwave, and she is trying to pace herself,” a friend of the princess told VF last week. “Trooping and the Garter were big occasions and very important dates in the royal calendar that the Princess wanted to be at. She was there and looked wonderful and played her part.”
Meanwhile, the king and queen endured the heat to present the owners of French runner Lazzat with the trophy in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. But not before Lazzat attempted to pull a Princess Cate of his own, unshipping jockey James Doyle (who was uninjured) and taking off down the Ascot course, as handlers scrambled to contain him.
“He’s a funny character,” trainer Jerome Reynier said. “That is why he is Lazzat, and he is our champion.”
