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King Charles III and Queen Camilla were victorious at the 2023 Royal Ascot. The annual horseracing event frequented by many British royals saw the pair cheer on their horse to victory. According to a body language, their “contrasting responses” to the race showed different sides to the king and queen’s personalities. 

A horse Queen Elizabeth gave to King Charles won at the 2023 Royal Ascot

Day three of the five-day racing event resulted in a win for King Charles. On June 22, 2023, in Ascot, England, his horse, Desert Hero, ridden by jockey Tom Marquand, won the King George V Stakes race (via The Guardian).

The win proved especially poignant because the king’s mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, gifted her oldest child Desert Hero. Images showed a tearful King Charles as his horse won Queen Elizabeth’s favorite Ascot event. 

King Charles and Camilla watched the race from the Royal Box at the Ascot before later accepting a trophy for placing silver.

Following the race, Zara Tindall, King Charles’s Olympic equestrian niece, called the win “bittersweet” in an ITV Racing interview. “To think how proud our grandmother would have been,” she said. “But, you know, to have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep the dream alive was incredible. And what a race.”

Charles and Camilla’s cheered with ‘contrasting responses’ amid their 2023 Royal Ascot win

King Charles III and Queen Camilla cheer on horse Desert Hero before 2023 Royal Ascot win
King Charles III and Queen Camilla | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Body language expert Judi James analyzed King Charles and Queen Camilla’s “spontaneous displays” at the 2023 Royal Ascot, telling the U.K.’s Express their reactions were telling. They “not only reveal a hidden side to their personalities but contrasting responses, too,” she said. 

King Charles, the expert observed, seemed to take a “gentle” approach while his wife cheered in a “more aggressive” manner. 

“Charles is rather gentle in the way he urges his horse on and it’s interesting that a display of more pent-up emotion at the win ended in a rather tearful look,” James said. “He raises one fist but the hand is curled rather than squeezed into a fist and held quite low.”

Meanwhile, Queen Camilla appeared “far more determined and even aggressive in her encouragement of a win,” the expert said. During the race, the 75-year-old had her mouth turned “down at the corners” and other times she had teeth bared “in a gesture of determination and a will to win.”

The 2023 Royal Ascot win seemingly brought Charles and Camilla ‘close to tears’

King Charles III, following his 2023 Royal Ascot win, greets horse Desert Hero, alongside Queen Camilla
King Charles III and Queen Camilla | Samir Hussein/WireImage

According to James, the win proved to be something of a bittersweet moment for King Charles and Queen Camilla. 

“I think it was a moment of release for both of them that might have brought them both close to tears,” James said. “The stress of the build-up to the coronation and the memories of the late queen at Ascot must have helped to provoke what look like sad but celebratory tears.” 

King Charles and Queen Camilla were regular visitors to the 2023 Royal Ascot, attending the festivities from June 20- 24. 

Showbiz Cheat Sheet acknowledges conditions and cultures can impact body language and is sensitive to all backgrounds.