Clare Balding’s Mother: Emma Hastings-Bass And Royal Ties On Racing Horse Trainer

Clare Balding’s Mother: Emma Hastings-Bass And Royal Ties On Racing Horse Trainer

Emma Hastings-Bass, the mother of Clare Balding, is friendly with and connected to the royal household.

A fascinating mix of nobles, royalty, and commoners who advanced through the ranks to join high society makes up Clare Balding’s family tree. Through her mother, Emma Hastings-Bass, Clare is related to both the University of Derby and the Earls of Derby.

She is a direct descendant of King John, Edwards I, II, and III, Henrys I, II, and III, and William the Conqueror, among seven other medieval kings. Her family tree also includes several ancestors who died horribly.

Margaret Countess of Salisbury was her 13th great-grandmother. She was the last of the Plantagenets and a Catholic martyr who was cruelly beheaded in 1541 at the age of 67 on Henry VIII’s orders. Shakespeare claims that George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449–1478), who was her 14th great-grandfather, perished in a barrel of Malmsey wine.

Clare Balding

Who Are the Parents of Clare Balding?

Clare Victoria Balding was born on January 29, 1971, to Emma Hastings-Bass, a well-known horse trainer, and Ian Balding. Clare’s maternal line, which is descended from the Earls of Derby, has a long history of aristocracy, and both of her parent’s sides of the family have a strong genetic predisposition for horse training.

After then, the stables were under the hands of Ian Balding and his son Andrew, Clare’s younger brother. At the nearby Downe School, where Miranda Hart, an actor and comedian, was a classmate, Clare served as head girl and was a student.

When she was a little child, the family surname changed, creating a double entry in her mother’s maiden name. In 1954, Clare’s paternal grandpa Peter Hastings received the inheritance of Sir William Bass, and as a result of his uncle’s bequest, he and his children adopted the family name Hastings-Bass.

William Hastings-Bass was given the title of 17th Earl of Huntingdon after the 16th Earl died without progeny because he was the great-grandson of the 14th Earl. Emma’s older brother is William.

Is Clare Balding a member of the royal family?

After her passing on September 8, many stories from Queen Elizabeth II’s life have been brought to the public’s attention. From Theresa May’s cheese gaffes at Balmoral to the levels of fortuitous public encounters when the Queen traveled around the countryside, everyone seems to have a tale to tell.

However, the Hampshire resident who was closest to the Queen was a well-known figure. Clare Balding was born in 1971 in Kingsclere, which is around eight miles away from Basingstoke.

Like The Queen, Balding, who hails from a family of horse trainers, grew up with a passion for all things equine. In fact, Balding revealed memories of her upbringing in Hampshire in her autobiography, “My Animals And Other Family,” and she claimed that The Queen gave her her first horse, Valkyrie.

However, Clare has added more details regarding this week’s royal mealtimes. During her appearance on BBC Breakfast, the presenter related a “incident with a sausage at the breakfast table, trying to carve it to put it on toast and it shooting across the table.”

Her Experience Racing Horses

From 1988 to 1993, Balding was a well-known amateur flat jockey. She was crowned Champion Lady Rider in 1990. Her upbringing on a racetrack is described in her memoirs, My Animals and Other Family.

Her father, Ian Balding, trained Mill Reef, a 1971 winner of The Derby, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Andrew Balding, her younger brother, was the trainer of 2003 Epsom Oaks champion Casual Look.

Her uncle Toby Balding trained champions in the Champion Hurdle, Grand National, and Cheltenham Gold Cup; after the latter triumph, her brother delivered an emotional post-race interview. Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth II’s maternal grandfather Peter Hastings-Bass and William Hastings-Bass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon, were also trainers.

Priscilla Hastings, an ancestor of the Earls of Derby, was one of the first women to be elected to the Jockey Club.

Clare’s Broadcasting Career Details

Balding joined BBC National Radio as a trainee in 1994 and worked on 5 Live, Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 4 during that time (presenting the sport on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show). In June 1995, she made her television debut by introducing the key moments at Royal Ascot.

The year after Julian Wilson retired, she began doing live broadcasts. She began serving as the primary horse racing presenter for the BBC in December 1997. Liam Treadwell, who won the 2009 Grand National, was notoriously embarrassed when she fronted coverage of the race.

Balding covered seven Olympic Games for BBC Radio in Atlanta and BBC Television in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. She has additionally hosted the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Delhi, Glasgow, and the Gold Coast in addition to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang, and Beijing. In addition, she has emceed four Paralympic Games.

She became the face of the BBC’s rugby league coverage after presenting Grandstand during a Rugby League Challenge Cup semifinal. She was asked to cover more rugby league matches as she became enamored with the intensity and physical challenge of the sport. She delivered the final performance of Sunday Grandstand.

Clare Balding

Alice Arnold and Clare Balding had a wonderful family life.

While both were working for the BBC in 1999, the well-known TV host, 50, got engaged to colleague journalist and broadcaster Alice Arnold. Alice, a trained actor, spent more than 20 years as a newsreader and continuity announcer for BBC Radio 4 before departing in December 2012.

Clare and Alice exchanged vows to become husband and wife in a civil partnership ceremony in 2006, and they commemorated the occasion with a cocktail event in a Palladian house built in the 18th century in Chiswick. They got married without any guests nine years later, in a ceremony that was considerably more private and intimate.

“Just your civil union’s date is applied retrospectively. As a result, we have been married legally since 2006,” Clare provided an explanation on the Jonathan Ross Show.

Throughout their partnership, the pair has always supported one another, especially when Clare was battling thyroid cancer. The presenter acknowledged in 2009 that watching a video of herself first caused her to experience a knot in her throat.

When Did Clare Balding wed Alice Arnold ?

Clare and Alice started a civil partnership in 2006, but after marriage became legal in 2015, they exchanged vows in front of loved ones. They’ve been married since 2006 and their union has now been officially acknowledged in the past!

During an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show, Clare acknowledged that it was a low-key occasion: “There was no significant celebration at all. Nobody showed up next to us.

In the same interview with Jonathan, she spoke about marriage, adding, “It concerns equality. You only need to be aware of your ability to say, “I’m married,” and that you can.

While presenting the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil, Clare was missing her wedding band, which led to some misunderstandings. However, all those anxious Twitter comments were swiftly addressed. Alice, Clare’s wife, claims that she was advised not to travel overseas with her wedding band in case it went missing.

For ten years, Clare Balding hide her sexuality.

Clare Balding acknowledged that she hid her sexuality for almost ten years after beginning her career at the BBC as a trainee journalist in 1993. “I was concerned that if people found out I was in a relationship with a woman, I may face bias when it came to the selection of presenters on TV,” the 50-year-old host revealed out loud.

Since her début nearly 20 years ago, Clare has hosted six Olympic Games and Channel 4’s Paralympics. She has also served as the emcee at Wimbledon and the Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

As a presenter on BBC’s Countryfile, the television personality has also covered important royal occasions including Trooping the Colour and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding.

She has written five best-selling books and promoted more media attention for female athletes.

Clare Balding’s Estimated Net Worth in 2022

She earned between £150,000 and £199,999 a year, putting her in the same pay bracket as Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew and Wimbledon commentator John McEnroe, according to the sun website.

The BBC has a significant pay gap, with Chris Evans making four times as much as Claudia Winkleman, the highest-paid woman, according to the research. Women make up just a third of those earning above £150,000 overall.

Both Clare and her family have a long history of involvement in racing. She was a top amateur flat jockey between 1988 and 1993, and she even received recognition for her memoir about growing up in a racing stable.

After completing her studies at Cambridge University, she started working for the BBC as a trainee in 1994.

Clare Balding’s Cancer Treatment

In 1995, the presenter made her television debut by introducing the highlights from the Royal Ascot. She rose to prominence as one of Channel 4’s and the BBC’s leading sports correspondents after that. The star, however, faced her biggest obstacle to yet in 2009.

When a malignant cyst was found on Clare’s thyroid gland, she was given the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. She requested others around her to hold back their sympathy, keeping her composure the whole while.

Instead, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the broadcaster said that her diagnosis had made her “extremely practical.”

The broadcaster, who has never been one to back down, insisted that her only true concern is the quality of her voice, which is essential to her job.

Did the television announcer work the Olympics game?

She’s helped out with four Olympic competitions, three Paralympic competitions, and three Winter Olympic competitions. Clare is proficient in all sports, including tennis, golf, swimming, rugby league, and horse racing. She is well known for being flexible and dependable and is equally at home on radio and television.

Clare has contributed to programs that have won BAFTA Awards, been recognized as the RTS Sports Presenter of the Year, the Racing Journalist of the Year, and presented programs that have won Sony Awards. The Broadcast Awards judges have praised Clare for her “outstanding presentation.”

She has a track record of making a creative and useful contribution to every initiative she works on.

Additionally, she has been the host of Ramblings on Radio 4 since 1999 and Britain By Bike on BBC4 since 2010. (three times yearly walking series). She broadcast Crufts for the BBC and More4 beginning in 2010.