Kate Middleton 'asked by Queen to join Royal Ascot honour'

June 14, 2008Jun 14, 2008, 11:00 PM GMT+1

The Queen has invited Kate Middleton to host her own table at next week's Royal Ascot, it has been reported.

Said to be keen to involve her grandchildren more in the sport, the Queen asked the younger members of her family, including Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to join her as hosts in the royal enclosure.

However, neither Prince William nor Prince Harry were able to accept their invitations and Kate, a fan of horse racing, is believed to have been asked in place of her royal boyfriend.

The honour means Kate would be able to invite ten friends to the private hospitality tent which lies inside the royal enclosure.

Aware of the speculation such an honour would bring, the 26-year-old is said to have politely declined.

It would have been the second time Kate stood in for William. Last month, she represented Prince Charles's elder son at the wedding of his cousin, Peter Phillips, to Canadian blonde Autumn Kelly.

Kate, seen here at last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup, is a keen horse racing fanPhoto: © Getty Images

The Queen and Prince Phillip attend Ascot every year and the British monarch is said to want to share her love of "the sport of kings" with the younger royalsPhoto: © Getty Images

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