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The Queen led the way in the fashion
stakes today as thousands of women descended on Royal
Ascot for the world-famous Ladies Day.
Vibrant hats of every shape and size
were paraded around the Knavesmire course in York on what
is traditionally the busiest day of the prestigious five-day
meeting.
A bumper crowd of 50,000 racing fans
cheered and applauded as the Queen‘s horse-drawn open-top
carriage made its way slowly past the packed stands.
The Queen, wearing a classic 1950s-style
golden dress and a gold and brown hat, was accompanied
by the Duke of Edinburgh.
They were followed by the Princess Royal,
who was sporting a white dress and black gloves, in the
second carriage.
A sea of colourful hats and smart morning
suits greeted the Queen as she made her way into the Royal
Enclosure.
The redevelopment of the Berkshire course,
which is owned by the Crown, has meant that Royal Ascot
has been transferred to York this year.
It is the first time in the Royal race
meeting’s long history that it has been held away from
Ascot.
A series of changes have been made to
the 56,000-capacity York course to enable the longest
races featured in the meeting to be staged there.
A group of six women laughed excitedly
as England football star Michael Owen arrived in the Royal
Enclosure.
Owen, 24, left behind his fiancee Louise
Bonsall and his two-year-old daughter Gemma, with whom
he visited the racecourse yesterday, as he arrived with
a male friend.
He smiled as he walked past the crowd
of photographers into the enclosure.
The Real Madrid striker was clearly enjoying
his second day at the races as he prepares to tie the
knot with Miss Bonsall within days at the couple’s Grade
II listed mansion in Flintshire, north Wales.
After two days of wind and rain at the
Yorkshire course, temperatures hovered around 19C with
dark grey cloud-covered skies and a steady breeze prompting
many ladies to opt for smaller hats than often seen at
Ascot.
But many female punters were still bidding
to outdo one another with stunning displays of coloured
feathers adorning their heads.
Aside from the hats, today‘s highlights
include the Gold Cup – the oldest race at the Royal meeting
– which was first run in 1807 when it was won by Master
Jackey.
As the racing began, the steady stream
of helicopters, which had been carrying the rich and famous
to the course throughout the morning, finally eased off.
Small groups of women sipped champagne
and huddled around the racing pages while others talked
excitedly on mobile phones about the latest hot tips.
Sarah Arnold, 26, from Oxford, said she
had visited Ascot once before and insisted it was just
as good this year.
She said: “I have definitely come for
the social event rather than the racing. Of course, I
like to put a bet on and it adds to the excitement, but
Ascot is about so much more than the racing.
“It‘s a brilliant day that is certainly
as good as when I last came.”
Rebecca King, 29, of Leeds, who was wearing
a sleeveless gold outfit cut low at the back, stood rubbing
her arms to keep warm between races.
But she insisted the steady breeze and
darkening skies were not going to spoil her day.
“I‘ll just have a couple more glasses
of wine,” she said.
“It‘s definitely worth dressing up for
something like this. I‘ve never had the chance to go racing
before and I‘ll definitely come back.”
One of the most unusual outfits in the
grandstand included a dark blue short dress with a colourful
hat depicting the Olympic rings.
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