The origins of the Royal Enclosure can be traced back to 1807 when an area was reserved exclusively for family, guests and the Household of King George III to view the first running of the Gold Cup. The Royal Enclosure as we know it today was established in the mid-nineteenth century when the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas I, visited Ascot for the first time as a guest of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. The concern raised from an impromptu descent into the Winners’ Enclosure by the Emperor, the King of Saxony and Prince Albert to examine the winner of the Queen’s Vase, prompted authorities to enclose the area in front of the Royal Stand in 1845. Excluding the Royal Stand, this area immediately became the most exclusive part of the racecourse.
