LONDON – Nothing has kept Queen Elizabeth II away from the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting during her 68-year reign as U.K.
monarch — not pregnancy, a speech to Parliament or even an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.But this year, the 94-year-old queen will not be attending Royal Ascot, which starts Tuesday, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is one of the country's most high-profile horse racing events and one that effectively launches a great British summer of sport that also includes Wimbledon tennis and golf's Open Championship.Unlike Wimbledon and the Open, Royal Ascot has not been canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, though spectators will be absent.