Quercus robur the oak tree at Boscobel House, where the future King Charles II hid from his Parliamentarian pursuers in 1650 during the English Civil War; the tree has since been known as the Royal Oak. This event was celebrated nationally on 29 May as Oak Apple Day, which is continued to this day in some communities. ‘The Royal Oak’ is the third most popular pub name in Britain (541 in 2007) and has been the name of eight major Royal Navy warships. The naval associations are strengthened by the fact that oak was the main construction material for sailing warships. The
Oak Tree Stakes race was titled the Royal Wedding Day Stakes in 1981, as it took place on the same day as the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. The present registered title, which acknowledges the link between Goodwood and the Oak Tree Racing Association of California, was introduced in 1982. An event called the Goodwood Stakes was staged during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park in October but was renamed the Awesome Again Stakes in 2012. The Goodwood race has been sponsored by L'Omarins since 2014 and named the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate to link the race with the South African