Last month, trainer Ciaron Maher and his mother Eileen were personally invited to attend a lunch at Windsor Castle with the King of England and joined the King’s official party on Day 4 of the 2026 Royal Ascot Carnival.

This came after Eileen wrote to King Charles III in late 2025, to wish him luck with his horse Gilded Water, who Maher was training for the Royal Stable.

To the Maher’s surprise, both the King and Queen Camilla responded to the letter, writing that Ciaron had done a “brilliant job” with the horse.

Fast forward several months later and Ciaron’s mother was given the privilege of sitting next to King Charles at their Windsor Castle lunch.

But what did they speak about?

Eileen revealed on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up that Queen Elizabeth II actually told King Charles to continue her legacy of having horses owned by the Royal Family to also be trained overseas.

“During the lunch he happened to tell me that the Queen asked him to continue the legacy that she had started of having horses trained in other countries,” Eileen Maher said.

“She told him that it was a way of connecting with those communities and a way of keeping in touch.

“That is why Charles continued by giving Ciaron three horses to train.”

In fact, the race which King Charles “wants to win more than anything else” is the prestigious Group 1 Melbourne Cup.

And if Maher can qualify one of the King’s horses for a Cup, then both the King and Queen will fly to Flemington to watch the race.

“He told me that the race that he wants to win more than anything else is the Melbourne Cup,” revealed Eileen.

“And if Ciaron could get one of those horses into the Melbourne Cup, he and Queen Camilla would definitely come out for the race.”

The Royal Horses currently in the Maher stable include stayers Gilded Water and Aeolian.

Listen to the full interview with Eileen Maher about meeting the King below: