King Charles III is selling some of the racehorses inherited from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Her late Majesty was an ardent racehorse breeder as well as a racegoer and rider.
On Monday, Tattersalls auction house in Newmarket announced the sale of 14 of Queen Elizabeth II’s “brood mares.”
They include Just Fine, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who oversaw more than 100 royal winners, and Love Affairs.
Tattersall’s spokesman Jimmy George said: “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Every year they would sell horses.
“The Queen had brood mares of her own, she would breed them and sell them. You can’t keep them all.”
Mr George said the sale of the Queen’s horses did not symbolise the end of the Royal household’s connection with racing.
He said: “Every year owners sell stock. His Majesty is just doing what owners do.”
It was from her father, King George VI, that the Queen inherited the Royal Stud, a racehorse breeding centre at Sandringham that produced many of her winners.
Her racing manager John Warren previously said horses were a “tremendous getaway” from other duties and her support had been a major boost for British racing.
“I’m sure if the Queen had not been bred into being a monarch she would have found a vocation with horses. It was just simply in her DNA,” he said.