It’s never easy to give up something you love, so we can’t imagine Camilla, Queen Consort, would have found it easy to give up horseback riding.
The horse lover admitted that she has hung up her stirrups whilst visiting an elementary school in Germany, as she chatted with the students about her hobbies.
The 75-year-old explained that age was the reason she was no longer riding, telling the children in Hamburg, “I used to have horses I rode but sadly I don’t ride any longer. I think I’m too old but I have racehorses. Last night I watched on my screen one of the foals being born, which was very exciting.”
Horses and equestrian sports are a common passion amongst British royal family members, with Camilla and her husband, King Charles III, originally bonding over the domesticated animal when they first met in 1970.
Though she’s no longer spending time in the saddle, Queen Camilla remains connected to horses, with the death of Queen Elizabeth resulting in her co-inheriting the late monarch’s racehorses alongside her husband.
And the horses that Camilla has inherited are of a high steed, as previously in an interview for ITV, the Queen Consort praised the late monarch’s impressive breeding knowledge, saying, ”she can tell you every horse she’s bred and owned, from the very beginning, she doesn’t forget anything.
”I can hardly remember what I bred a year ago, so she’s encyclopedia about her knowledge.”
Her mother-in-law was riding as recently as last year and remained invested in the world of horse racing until her death in September at age 96.
It was known that The Queen was a committed equestrian for her entire life, having had her first riding lesson at the age of three, and following on to breed race horses for 60 years.
The late head of the British monarchy also made history in 2013 as the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup.