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King Charles III sells beloved racehorses inherited from the Queen

The royal auctioned 14 racehorses

king charles
Phoebe Tatham
Content Writer
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King Charles III is set to auction 14 racehorses handed down to him by his mother, it has been revealed.

MORE: King Charles has a very special wish for his granddaughter Princess Charlotte

The new monarch inherited the talented racehorses after the late Queen tragically passed away on 8 September. As is tradition, Charles has agreed to scale back the number of royal livestock and will be selling a selection of horses at Tattersalls auction house in Newmarket.

WATCH: The Queen's love of horses

"It's nothing out of the ordinary. Every year they would sell horses," Tattersall's spokesman Jimmy George told the BBC. "The Queen had brood mares of her own, she would breed them and sell them. You can't keep them all.

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"Every year owners sell stock. His Majesty is just doing what owners do," he added.

Among the 14 horses prepped for auction is Love Affairs – the Queen's last winner before her death – and Just Fine, Charles' first winner at Leicester on 4 October.

king charles race horses© Photo: Getty Images

The royal inherited his mother's racehorses

Whilst King Charles keenly follows the sport, it was his late mother who displayed an unwavering passion for racing and racehorses. The committed equestrian had her first riding lesson at the age of three and continued to ride well into her 90s.

In her lifetime, the monarch moreover established herself as a veritable racehorse breeder. Numbering around 180, the royal horses and ponies are kept at various royal residences and stables, with many sharing a base at Balmoral and Sandringham.

queen pony© Photo: Getty Images

The late Queen was given her first pony when she turned four

Many of her thoroughbreds have gone on to win impressive titles, and in 2013 she even made sporting history when she became the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot's Gold Cup with her thoroughbred, Estimate.

the queen race horses© Photo: Getty Images

The Queen celebrated a major win at Royal Ascot

In a recent interview for ITV regarding Royal Ascot, Queen Consort Camilla praised the late monarch's impressive breeding knowledge. "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 encyclopaedic about her knowledge," Camilla said.

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