War, death and industrial strife: Sean Magee's history of Royal Ascot disruption

In the three centuries of its existence, Royal Ascot has never seen anything to equal the extraordinary renewal of 2020. But throughout its history this unique occasion has been no stranger to disruption.

Indeed, the unexpected has been a feature of the meeting from the very beginning, when in 1711 Queen Anne took a fancy to a clearing in Windsor Forest as the ideal place to indulge her passion for horse racing.

In July of that year, the original announcement soliciting entries for "Her Majesty's Plate of 100 guineas" stated that the races would be run on August 6 and 7. But a subsequent announcement put back the opening date to August 11. The explanation for this delay is lost in the swirl of history.