Honour for one of the late Queen’s closest aides: Racing manager John Warren is presented with Royal Victorian Order by Princess Anne at Windsor Castle
- The late Queen’s racing manager John Warren was presented with the honour
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Sports stars and people who helped the late Queen to enjoy her passion for horses are among those who were recognised with royal honours today.
Queen Elizabeth II’s racing manager John Warren, was presented the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) by the Princess Royal at a ceremony at Windsor Castle this afternoon.
Meanwhile Terry Pendry, the stud groom who held the reins of her pony Emma as the funeral cortege entered Windsor Castle, was also given the honour today.
These are in recognition of their service to the Queen and are part of the Demise honours.
The RVO honours are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way.
Queen Elizabeth II’s racing manager John Warren, was presented the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) by the Princess Royal at a ceremony at Windsor Castle this afternoon
John has previously said he spent the weekend before the Queen died in Scotland, discussing her horses, as they had done so many times before (pictured together in 2021)
John has previously said he spent the weekend before the Queen died in Scotland, discussing her horses, as they had done so many times before.
The Queen was in ‘tremendous form’ just a few days before she died and discussing ‘her love for her horses right to the very end’, according to her trusted bloodstock and racing adviser.
‘We sat there for hours over the weekend strategising and making plans going forward’, he said.
‘And I think the nicest thing for me is to know that she was surrounded by her family members.
‘She was in such a healthy state of mind and in tremendous form.
‘It’s very important to know that she was absolutely, wonderfully switched on.’
Mr Warren said the Queen had seen a lot of the King and Queen Consort, who were also in Scotland, and was enjoying having different groups of family staying at Balmoral.
‘She really loved having them right there with her and being able to talk about her horses and her love for her horses right to the very end,’ he said.
John, who was an advisor to the late Queen for 13 years, was beaming as he shook hands with Princess Anne today
The Bloodstock and Racing Advisor to The late Queen was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
‘I left her on Monday afternoon, the prime ministers were coming in on the Tuesday, she had a winner on the Tuesday.
‘On the Tuesday evening she was in really good form, delighted she had had a winner, and talked about the prime ministers coming in and out, and I can hardly believe it possible that within less than 48 hours the Queen had died.’
He said: ‘Shocking as that was, it is wonderful to know that she led a long and full life, and dutiful to the very end.
‘Perhaps the racing community contributed to giving her some pleasure along the way.’
John is married to Lady Carolyn Warren, daughter of the Queen’s previous racing adviser, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon.
Together the couple own and run Highclere Stud near Newbury, Berkshire. Lady Carolyn’s brother is the current Lord Carnarvon, whose ancestral home is Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey.
Mr Warren was an adviser to the late Queen for more than 13 years.
He said the monarch was a regular visitor to his home for 60 years, which she used as a base for visiting her horses.
John was often seen at royal racing events alongside the Queen, and the pair enjoyed a close friendship
The Queen was in ‘tremendous form’ just a few days before she died and discussing ‘her love for her horses right to the very end’, according to her trusted bloodstock and racing adviser (pictured together in 2019)
Meanwhile the racing manager was often see at public events chatting with the late monarch (pictured, at the Windsor Horse Show in 2021)
He said: ‘I was just fortunate and incredibly lucky to be a part of being so close to her through our shared fascination.’
Others to be honoured today included Denise Lewis, 50, who won heptathlon gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
She became a dame as president of Commonwealth Games England and for services to sport.
Ms Lewis was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands, and first came to prominence at the Birchfield Harriers club.
Her first major international breakthrough was at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, where she took gold.
All-rounder Moeen Ali, 35, who has come out of Test retirement to join the England squad for the first two of the five Ashes Tests against Australia, becomes an OBE for services to cricket.
Daniel Dark, Managing Director or Warner Brothers Studios, Leavesden, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Bryndon Hughes, the father of Greater Manchester Police officer PC Nicola Hughes, who was murdered by Dale Cregan while on duty, wiith hiis MBE or services to people affected by crime (left). Denise Lewis, President of Commonwealth Games England, poses after being a Dame (right)
Mr Ali, who will be joined by his wife Firoza, will be missing training ahead of the first Test to attend the ceremony.
Mr Ali, who has not played an international Test for nearly two years, having previously announced his retirement from red-ball cricket, was called in earlier this month as a replacement for first-choice spinner Jack Leach, after he was ruled out with a stress fracture to his back.
Judd Trump, 33, is being made an MBE for services to snooker and charity.
Mr Trump won the world championship title in 2019, with a stunning 18-9 defeat of John Higgins in the final.
He is an ambassador for Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home, which provides specialist nursing care for terminally ill children in their own homes in the south west of England, and also for Teenage Cancer Trust.
Explorer Sir David Hempleman-Adams will collect a Polar Medal for his expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.
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