Queen Elizabeth’s American cowboy and their ‘extremely close relationship’
- Californian Monty Roberts, often referred to as ‘the real Horse Whisperer’, became friends with the queen 30 years ago
- When Queen Elizabeth heard about the American’s training techniques she invited him to try them out on the royal equines
Monty Roberts, but not his royally approved blue shirt, bright red bandana scarf and beige cowboy hat, will be at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday.
The solemnities will bring to a close 10 days of national mourning for Britain’s beloved monarch. The elaborate royal rites will also effectively bookend an Elizabethan age that ran for 70 years and usher in a Carolean one – when a Charles reigns.
Some observers may wonder why Roberts, an American horse trainer who has a 100-acre ranch in Solvang, California, will be present at a ceremony that will be attended by an estimated 500 heads of state and dignitaries including US President Joe Biden, Commonwealth leaders and members of royal families from all around the world, as well as the queen’s own family.
The reasons are clear to Roberts. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to characterise our friendship. She had at least 50 per cent of it,” the 87-year-old trainer says of the queen in an interview on the eve of her funeral at Westminster Abbey. “But if you ask me, we had an extremely close relationship.”
In fact, for a monarch who rigorously kept her opinions to herself, the queen’s fondness for a horse trainer revered for his gentle, affectionate methods – Roberts is often referred to as “the real Horse Whisperer” after the 1998 Robert Redford movie and 1995 Nicholas Evans book of the same name – was an open secret.
The queen’s passion for horses was rivalled only by her love of corgis. When Ronald Reagan visited Windsor Castle in 1982, the queen and the president rode a pair of sleek-coated black stallions for an hour-long trek around the castle’s private grounds.