Throwback Thursday: Queen Elizabeth's trips to Kentucky

If you haven’t heard the news, Queen Elizabeth passed away today at the age of 96. The longest-serving monarch in British history spent 70 years on the throne, a reign that spanned 15 UK Prime Ministers and 14 American Presidents. As tributes continue to pour in for the Queen, it’s worth remembering her connection to Kentucky.

Queen Elizabeth first visited the Bluegrass in 1984 and returned in 1986, 1989, 1991, and 2007. During her trips to Kentucky, the avid horse lover visited Keeneland and Churchill Downs, attending the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Last year following Prince Philips’ passing, WHAS11 opened its vault to share footage of the Queen and her husband’s visits over the years. WLKY uploaded some footage earlier this year as well.

Here are some more pictures of the Queen at the 2007 Kentucky Derby and the scene it created:

The new King watched Kentucky beat Georgia in 1977

With his mother’s passing, Prince Charles becomes King Charles III. He has a connection to Kentucky too. In 1977, the Prince of Wales attended the Kentucky vs. Georgia game in Athens (along with James Brown, wildly) to see the Cats rout the Bulldogs 33-0. Last year, Nick Roush flashed back to that special day, which included some hilarious banter between Kentucky head coach Fran Curci and Prince Charles.

Prince Charles was weeks away from his 30th birthday when the heir-apparent to the British throne decided to attend the homecoming game at Sanford Stadium. His motives were unknown, but the royal was welcomed with open arms, greeted by the fans with chants of “Damn Good Prince!” UK head coach Fran Curci had a different idea of showing hospitality, but it did not go according to plan.

Kentucky’s head coach prepared to share a gift with the Prince at halftime. Well, something happened to it. The royal gift was lost. Who was responsible and what tomfoolery took place to let it go by the wayside is unknown. What we do know is that Kentucky’s head coach was not happy about it, but he had a plan.

After Vince Dooley presented the Prince of Wales with a football at halftime, Curci cooly shared a gift of his own. “‘Gum, prince?‘ He was kind of shocked and said, ‘No thank you,’” Dooley recalled.

Prince Charles may have been surprised, but he was probably still mesmerized by Kentucky All-American Art Still. “My word,” said the prince, gazing upward, “you’re a big one, aren’t you?”

Kentucky fans would love nothing more than a win over Georgia this season. Until then, we’ve got this Vince Marrow tweet to entertain us.

RIP Queen Elizabeth. It was and honor being in your present in 2005 when I work for NFLEurope.

— CoachMarrowUK (@vincemarrow) September 8, 2022

I’m gonna need a picture of the Big Dog and the Queen, stat.