Climate change protesters disrupted racing at Royal Ascot June 19, chaining themselves to the running rail by the winning post following the opening contest.
The four women, dressed as catering staff, unfurled a banner with the slogan "Racing to Extinction," having reached the inner running rail shortly after the finish to the Chesham Stakes.
Ascot security scrambled to remove the banner only to find the women shackled to the plastic railings and glued to the banner, prompting a screen to be erected while they were removed.
"This incident was quickly dealt with without delay to racing," an Ascot spokesman said.
It is understood that the protesters, who were arrested and taken away in police vehicles, had been employed as catering staff through the week at Royal Ascot. They were later revealed to be linked to the Extinction Rebellion climate change movement, which has a history of high-profile protests. The group's UK arm outlined in a statement that the action was taken to attempt to directly get Queen Elizabeth II, who was at Royal Ascot for the first time since 2019, to intervene in influencing environmental policy.
The women, who earlier posted a letter to the Queen on the website change.org, were quoted in the statement apologizing for the disruption but added they had "no other choice" as "we are running out of time in the race to tackle the climate and ecological emergency."
