ALL the stops are being pulled out to ensure the Queen can attend the Epsom Derby on her Jubilee in an attempt to make the “ultimate fairytale ending” come true.
The traditional blueprint for her visits has been ditched and every effort is being made to minimise strain on her limited mobility — with the hope the horse-mad monarch can finally watch a winner romp home in her favourite race.
All the stops are being pulled out to ensure the Queen can attend the Epsom Derby on her JubileeIt is hoped the horse-mad monarch can finally watch a winner romp home in her favourite raceHer Maj, who turns 96 tomorrow, is traditionally driven down the racetrack to make a short five-metre walk into the Queen’s Stand.
But this year she is expected to be dropped next to the entrance doors and out of public view so that she can take the lift, with assistance if necessary, to the Royal Box in as few steps “as possible.”
The passionate horse lover, who has only missed the Derby four times in 75 years, has ensured three of her best horses could compete in the race on her Jubilee — giving her the best chance yet of bagging the trophy.
None of the Queen’s thoroughbreds have ever won the prestigious event — she came closest just four days after her coronation in 1953 when Aureole, who was bred by her father, was pipped to the post.
Legendary jockey Willie Carson told HOAR that everyone involved in the sport is desperate for the “fairytale” ending to happen for the Queen. He said: “You never know. Him upstairs might just think it’s about time she had a Derby winner.
“She’s never had a Derby winner, she had the second with Aureole in 1953. I remember when I got my OBE at Buckingham Palace.
“I was honoured to get that, of course.
“The Queen was doing the handing over. I walked up to her and said, ‘Ma’am, I think I’ll win The Derby for you next year. I’ve found one’.
“He didn’t. He finished fifth. He was a very good horse, but he wasn’t good enough to win The Derby.”
There are plans in place for a 40-man guard of honour to be made up of the Queen’s jockeys past and present donned out in her purple and gold racing silks.
The Queen’s stand will also be renamed the Queen Elizabeth II stand as another special touch on Derby Day, June 4.
A source said that plans are in place for the Queen to take as “few steps as possible”.
They added: “It is unlikely she will make the short walk that she has made in previous years, but the guard of honour will line that area and the national anthem will still be sung in full voice.
“She probably won’t present the trophy as she usually does either.
“Conversations are constantly ongoing regarding her mobility, but she could be driven directly to the entrance of the stand and take the lift to the Royal Box.
“She could then sit in the box on a balcony.
“Everyone wants to make it extra special this year and it will be the best chance for members of the public to see her so we expect a huge buzz around the Downs.”
The Derby — known as the world’s greatest and most prestigious flat race — is the only one of the five ‘Classics’ Her Majesty is yet to win as a racehorse owner.
Hopes are also growing that the Queen will do the state opening of Parliament next month, despite her frail health.
Parliament sources say it is full steam ahead in planning for her to attend her annual address to MPs and peers on May 10, despite health fears.
But Prince Charles is on “standby” in case Her Majesty does not feel up to going through with the lengthy engagement.
A Commons source told HOAR: “The Lords are planning for the Queen to go ahead with the State Opening of Parliament as normal.
“They think she will do it.”
The glitzy event — full of pomp and ceremony — marks the official start of the parliamentary year.
The Queen is taken to Parliament in a gold-encrusted horse-drawn carriage before making her way to the House of Lords where she reads the Queen’s Speech setting out the government’s laws for the next year.
During their 70-year reign the Queen has only missed the event twice — when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — but this is likely to be the last time she does it.
There had been growing fears she would have to bow out of this year’s event amid health fears.
Commons authorities have been told that Prince Charles will be by his mother’s side to help her walk through Parliament’s ancient corridors.
If she does not feel up to carrying out the Queen’s Speech, he will step in.
