Footy supremo Peter V’landys reveals the Queen told him all about the moment she first came to love racehorses when he sat next to Her Majesty at royal lunch

  • V’landys was invited by John Warren, the Queen’s racing manager  
  • He said Her Majesty was ‘extremely knowledgeable’ during their conversation 
  • Monarch revealed what made her first develop a love for racehorses as a girl 

Australian Rugby League boss Peter V’landys has been around plenty of footy royalty in his time, but on Wednesday he met the real thing when he sat next to the Queen during a lunch at Windsor Castle.

V’landys was in England attending the world-famous Royal Ascot races in his capacity as the chief executive of Racing NSW, and while Her Majesty didn’t get to the track, she did sit next to him during the lunch – where she gave him some priceless insights into her love of the sport.

‘The Queen and I spoke about a wide range of topics from racing to politics,’ he said of their lunch on Wednesday, which was also attended by his wife Philippa, Prince Charles and Prince Edward.

V'landys rode in one of the horse-drawn carriages that formed the royal procession into the world-famous Ascot course after dining with the Queen

V’landys rode in one of the horse-drawn carriages that formed the royal procession into the world-famous Ascot course after dining with the Queen

Her Majesty didn't attend the course this year but held a lunch at Windsor Castle prior to the races on Wednesday (Queen pictured at Ascot last year)

Her Majesty didn’t attend the course this year but held a lunch at Windsor Castle prior to the races on Wednesday (Queen pictured at Ascot last year)

‘She’s extremely knowledgeable and takes an interest in what you are saying.’

V’landys said the monarch told him that she first found her love of racehorses when she and her father King George VI went to a track meeting and were introduced to the connections of the winning steed.

‘The Queen told me she went and patted the winner and said the horse felt like velvet,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.

‘From that day on, she just loved racehorses. Although her father wasn’t so keen on horse racing, her grandfather [King George V] and her mother were always big fans.

‘The Queen Mother really like her jumps racing so the Queen said she would follow the flat racing.’

V'landys was joined by his wife Philippa (second from right) at the most prestigious event on any racing calendar in the world

V’landys was joined by his wife Philippa (second from right) at the most prestigious event on any racing calendar in the world

Her Majesty is renowned for being a keen follower of the horses, but that enthusiasm doesn’t extend to footy, with V’landys adding she ‘knew nothing about rugby league’.

John Warren, the Queen’s racing manager, invited V’landys to the lunch as a way of thanking him for all he’s done for the sport.

After the meal, he and Phillipa went into the Royal Ascot course in one of the horse-drawn carriages that formed the royal procession for day two of the carnival.

The Australian Rugby League Commission boss was there when Australian horse Nature Strip saluted in the King's Stand race at Ascot

The Australian Rugby League Commission boss was there when Australian horse Nature Strip saluted in the King’s Stand race at Ascot

He got to see Australia’s Nature Strip beat Europe’s top sprinters to win the King’s Stand race in front of 75,000 fans. 

Trainer Chris Waller was full of emotion after the race, said it was ‘special’ to come all the way from Australia and prepare the horse for a ‘breathtaking’ victory which he counted in the ‘top five’ of his illustrious career.

Nature Strip was the first Aussie horse to win at the carnival since the great Black Caviar saluted in front of Her Majesty in 2012. 

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Post source: Daily mail

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