King Charles hasn't faced the easiest of weeks following the explosive allegations in Earl Charles Spencer's book about how he reacted to the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana.
However, the monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, had some good news to celebrate on Friday when their horse, Reaching High won the John J. Galvin Maiden Hurdle at Listowel Racecourse in County Kerry, Ireland.
It marked a return to form for the horse, which was recently twice beaten while the favourite at Ascot, and back in June, the prize horse ended up finishing in last place when it competed at the Ascot Stakes. This prompted a change from Reaching High competing in flat racing to jumps.
Despite the victory, the royal couple weren't there to witness the triumph in person. Willie Mullins, the horse's trainer, said: "Unfortunately the King and Queen aren’t present but would love to be here, as one of their stated aims is to visit every county in Ireland. They only have a few left and hopefully will come to 'the Kingdom' (as Listowel is known) some day.
"The horse got a fright at the last but he jumps well enough. He likes a flat track, but it can be a bit sharp here and he is a huge, big, long-striding horse so was inclined to get unbalanced around the bends. Other than that, he did it well."
He concluded: "The ultimate plan is to go for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham next March and I think he is more of a good-ground horse, so running in Leopardstown at Christmas would be fantastic. We'll take baby steps first."
The King's awkward week
Earlier this week, Earl Charles Spencer, the younger brother of Princess Diana, published Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, in which he makes a series of explosive claims against the monarch and his relationship with the late Princess of Wales.
In one excerpt, the Earl claimed: "Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped.
© Getty Images"I assumed the pause signalled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. 'Rest assured', he hissed, 'we'll forget her soon enough!'"
He also said that the monarch "sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner" when he called the Earl to tell him about Diana's death. "He let me know he had informed William and Harry of their mother's death, first thing that morning, in their bedrooms at Balmoral," he wrote.
