Queen Elizabeth II was British sport’s most dutiful servant and also its star attraction

By many accounts, beyond her unquenchable passion for equestrianism, and horse racing in particular, the Queen wasn’t actually the most avid fan of all sports. There were some she could take — motor racing was one of her fancies — and evidently others she could happily leave. Ad Take FA Cup finals.

She bypassed them year after year once she’d presented the trophy to Southampton’s Peter Rodrigues back in 1976. After all, the joke went, she’d seen it all after watching the Saints beat Manchester United. All SportsHow sporting schedule has been impacted by Queen's death4 HOURS AGO Yet, as in so many other walks of her extraordinary life, the Queen understood implicitly her duty in supporting the nation’s pastimes, be it polo or pigeon racing.

A figurehead at 70 different sports organisations — yes, it really did include the North Road Championship Club for pigeon fanciers — there was not one which her patronage could not enhance. For here was someone who was both British sport’s most dutiful servant while also being its star attraction. Indeed, when you gaze back at defining stories of British sport over her extraordinary reign, how many of those plot lines were gilded simply by her just being there? The 1953 Matthews FA Cup final, Gordon Richards’ Coronation Derby win on Pinza that same year, the 1966 World Cup final, Virginia Wade’s 1977 Wimbledon win, the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, countless Commonwealth Games … sporting pictures framed for ever in the mind’s eye with the Queen at the epicentre.