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The Prince of Wales joked about his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s passion for horses with members of her Women’s Institute (WI) as he marked the third anniversary of her death.
William was joined by the Princess of Wales for the visit to the National Federation of Women’s Institutes – in tribute to the late Queen’s decades-long association with the organisation – and told guests he could not believe how quickly the time had passed.
Separately, his brother the Duke of Sussex, in the UK to attend a series of charity events, privately visited the late Queen’s resting place in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, to pay his respects and lay flowers.
William told some of the guests: “It’s three years since my grandmother died, she was a big part of the WI, she used to talk about it a lot. This is the first time I’ve been, and experienced the WI, so this is a huge honour for me.”
He asked for members’ memories of the late Queen and later told them “can’t believe it’s three years – goes quite quick”, and they chatted about his grandmother’s passion for horses and horse breeding.
The prince said with a smile: “I think she would have liked a few more winners,” then told the members his grandmother had “an old iPad” she would use to watch her foals being born via a remote camera, adding “a lot of foals were born at Sandringham”.
The event was hosted by the Sunningdale branch of the WI in their small Berkshire hall with an array of cakes on a side table which William and Kate, who had not been expected to attend, could not resist.
The WI has a close connection with Elizabeth II as she was a member for 80 years, joining in 1943 and serving as president of the Sandringham WI from 2003 until her death in 2022 at Balmoral, aged 96 after a reign lasting 70 years.
The late Queen was an active member of the Sandringham WI and would regularly attend the New Year meeting in January.