by Celebrities, punters, and the usual guard of Britain’s upper crust are slicking their tails and practicing how to hide the elastic of their giant new hat under their hair – for Royal Ascot 2024 has arrived.
The five-day engagement began with cigar smoke, sunshine and a smile from King Charles on Tuesday, June 18. A strong crowd came from the royals, with the sight of Queen Camilla, who is not allowed in a cobalt blue dress from Fiona Clare Couture, Princess. Anne wore a red embroidered dress, Zara Tindall, who chose puff sleeves, Laura Green lemon with a gold flight boater, and Princess Eugenie in Diane von Furstenberg’s mint green.
Lady Gabriella Kingston joined the pole four months after the death of her husband Tom Kingston. She arrived, wearing a floral, collared Catherine Walker & Co dress and an on-trend Bottega Veneta clutch, in a horse-drawn carriage with the Princess Royal and Peter Phillips, before being hugged by Tindall in the parade ring.
‘The Summer House’ was the star-studded venue on the first day of the Royal Enclosure, where guests – after being unleashed in Wheelys, this year’s “Official Chauffeur” – mingled with Moët who flow freely. Rod Stewart’s wife Penny Lancaster certainly made an entrance carrying a parasol made of fresh flowers, and joined the likes of footballer Theo Walcott and rapper Bugzy Malone.
London fashion designer Daniel W. Fletcher is Royal Ascot’s first creative director this year, so the garden tables were filled with good-looking boys who gave playful twists to the traditional dress code. “I wanted to take a fresh approach to how people dress at the races. There is no change in the dress code for Royal Ascot but I wanted to explore what you could do within them to be the most creative,” he said of his style guide for the event.
“We take the opportunity to be brave.” One of his guests turned his head in a meter long coat tail.
As for the more questionably dressed, Beyoncé’s “cowboycore” seems to have gone to the races, with a handful of attendees pairing country western hats with their dresses or, in one case, a white, fringe suit. This ain’t Texas, ladies.
Carole and Michael Middleton, parents of the Princess of Wales, came to the fore on Tuesday, making their first public appearance since their daughter’s cancer diagnosis. Zara Tindall, in a printed cotton dress by Anna Mason, joined her husband Mike for the second day in a row, but it was Elizabeth Hurley, wearing a long, white lace and floral and embroidered dress and hat was like empty fruit. basket, which ignited the biggest buzz on arrival.
Queen Camilla led the royal procession at 2pm, along with Prince William and Peter Wood, Earl of Halifax. Rounding out the pack were Prince Edward, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their mother, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Chanel’s perennial advice: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take off one thing.”
Jerry Hall, former partner of Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch, made her way into navy with British fashion designer Rupert Lycett Green. Singer Katherine Jenkins opted for a bright white dress with tight black gloves and a dark hat, while Lady Victoria Hervey chose to make a statement in an ivory ostrich feather dress with a high hip slit.
King Charles resumed his normal service after taking a second day off, arriving in the carriage with Queen Camilla who also chose white. They were joined by Princess Anne and Lady Sarah Chatto, as well as Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Zara Tindall.
The best dressed guests at Royal Ascot
Day three
Day two
Day one
