The king and queen will attend the 247th running of the Derby on 6 June, reviving what was a traditional engagement in the calendar for Queen Elizabeth II for most of her 70-year reign. The late Queen missed just two renewals of the Classic at Epsom Downs between 1953 – when her colt Aureole finished second, four days after her coronation – and the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. King Charles and Queen Camilla were at Epsom to watch the Oaks, which is run a day earlier, in 2024, but the news of their attendance for the track’s most famous race is a significant boost for a race which has suffered a major decline in attendance in recent years. The official attendance for the Derby in 2022, the first post-pandemic year without crowd restrictions, was 37,274, just 770 below the 2019 figure of 38,044, but last year’s race pulled in just 22,787 fans. “We are honoured and thrilled the king and queen will be joining us at Epsom Downs on Derby day,” Jim Allen, Epsom’s general manager, said.…