Queen Camilla braves the rain at the races as she breaks cover after King Charles comments

Queen Camilla braved the rain today as she took a break from her summer holiday to attend York Races. 

The royal, 79, sheltered under an umbrella as she arrived at York Racecourse for the first day of the Ebor Festival on Wednesday. 

Camilla, who is the Patron of York racecourse, met "unsung heroes", including St John's Ambulance volunteers and jockey Joe Fanning, as well as staff members and representatives from local charities. 

Later, she will present the trophy to the winning owner of the feature race, the Juddmonte International Stakes. 

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She was not joined by her husband King Charles, who has remained in Scotland after the formal welcome ceremony at Balmoral Castle on Tuesday. 

Camilla's attire for a day at the races

The royal wore a bespoke navy blue hat from Philip Treacy, adding a feather for embellishment. 

She covered up her cornflower blue coat dress with a sandy trench coat due to the rain.  

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Camilla was seen wearing a diamond and sapphire butterfly brooch that was once presented to the late Queen Elizabeth at the Birmingham Spring Fair in February 1977, and which she also wore in her 79th birthday portrait in July this year.  

Despite the wet conditions, Camilla wore light pink kitten heels and carried a matching bag.

As she arrived at the racecourse, King Charles's wife carried a transparent umbrella and appeared in bright spirits despite the gloomy forecast.  

Queen Camilla's rare interview about King Charles

Camilla's outing comes after she took part in a new interview with the cancer charity Maggie's on Wednesday. 

During the conversation, the royal opened up about the King's reaction to his cancer diagnosis in 2024, as he told her: "I'm going to cope."

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She also described a "difficult" outing to a Maggie's centre in London on 31 January 2024 when Charles had been diagnosed, but it hadn't yet been made public. 

Speaking to Dame Laura Lee, she said: "I remember coming to see Maggie’s just after The King had been diagnosed. Nobody could say anything at the time. That was quite difficult.

"I almost said something but, you know, I felt that it wasn’t the time to say. [I] looked at everybody who was suffering and all the relations and I think it made me realise even more how important these places were."