Everything You Need To Know About Royal Ascot
A look at the extravagant fashion-filled week of horse races that is one of the most anticipated events on the royal calendar.
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The royals do not rest in June! First was Trooping the Colour, made exponentially bigger this year by the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Then came Monday’s Order of the Garter, followed by Royal Ascot, which began today. The week of horse races always includes some of the best royal fashion of the year, so I thought it was worth a closer look. Be honest: Will you be watching for the horses? Or the hats? I think you know where my thoughts will be…!
ICYMI: Reflections on seeing the Spencer Tiara in London.
A Royal Ascot Primer
The Queen looking lovely in coral at Royal Ascot in 2016. (Photo via Getty Images)
What is Royal Ascot?
Royal Ascot is a special week of horse races held each June at the Ascot Racecourse, one of the most well-known racecourses in Britain. Founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, the Berkshire racecourse has had the patronage of the subsequent 11 monarchs. The summer race meeting, now known as Royal Ascot, began in 1911.
“This week has become Britain’s most popular race meeting, welcoming around 300,000 visitors over five days, all dressed up in their finest clothes and hats,” according to the royal family’s website. The Associated Press describes it as “a heady mix of horses, extravagant headwear, fancy dress, champagne and strawberries with cream.”
Some numbers to give you a sense of the scale, via Town & Country: Royal Ascot attendees consume some 56,000 bottles of champagne, 44,000 bottles of wine, 21,000 jugs of Pimm’s, 60,000 finger sandwiches and 80,000 cups of tea. To which I say: Cheers!
What happens at Royal Ascot?
The races begin on Tuesday and run through Saturday; members of the royal family attend on all five days. Gates open at 10:30am each morning, but the real action begins at 2pm with the Royal Procession. You’ll recognize those photographs of the family members entering via horse-drawn carriages on the Straight Mile track (seen in the header of this newsletter).
There are seven races between 2:30pm and 6:10pm. Attendees range from coveted membership holders to the ticket-buying public. Tickets start at £37, or about $46. The races are viewed from one of several enclosures, including the Village Enclosure (described as a “a relaxed and vibrant atmosphere”) and the invitation-only Royal Enclosure (the most exclusive, where the Queen and her descendants are stationed, more on that below).
Horse racing is serious business! The Queen is joined by members of the royal family to watch the last race on the opening day of Royal Ascot in 2018. (Photo via i-Images / Polaris)
Which members of the royal family attend?
The Queen has made an appearance at nearly every Royal Ascot during her 70-year reign. The one exception was in 2020, when the pandemic forced the races to take place without spectators. Her Majesty returned in 2021, just a few months after her husband, Prince Philip, passed away. However, she was notably absent on Tuesday for this year's opening day. Whether or not she will be there later in the week is unclear.
All four of the Queen's children are regular Royal Ascot attendees. Kate has been three times with William, in 2016, 2017 and 2019; Meghan made her only appearance alongside Harry in 2018. Other family members that clearly enjoy the outing are Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, along with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Zara Tindall. Occasionally visiting members of European royal families join the fun, too, like Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in 2016 and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in 2019.
What is the deal with the Royal Enclosure?
After the Royal Procession, the royal family moves to the Royal Enclosure. Although the concept dates back to the reign of King George III, the Royal Enclosure was reimagined under Queen Victoria when she hosted the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas I. From the Ascot website:
“An impromptu descent into the Winners’ Enclosure by the Emperor, the King of Saxony and Prince Albert to examine the winner of the Queen’s Vase, prompted authorities to enclose the area in front of the Royal Stand in 1845. Excluding the Royal Stand, this area immediately became the most exclusive part of the racecourse.”
Exclusive is the key word here and they go to great lengths to keep it that way. The Royal Enclosure is an invitation-only area; new applicants must be sponsored by two different existing members. Babies and children under 10 are not allowed. On the opening day of Royal Ascot each year (typically the Tuesday), only members are allowed in the Royal Enclosure. For the remaining four days, members may bring up to two guests.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, made waves in a jumpsuit at Royal Ascot in 2019. (Photo via i-Images/Polaris)
What is the dress code at Royal Ascot?
The week is famous for its specific—and strict—dress code, which varies based on where you are. For the Queen Anne and Village Enclosures, men must wear a suit and tie and the women in “tasteful” dresses and hats. The Windsor Enclosure is the most relaxed, which Town & Country says “translates to party central, sometimes rather rowdy.”
The Royal Enclosure dress code is the most intense, citing specific colors and measurements. According to the Ascot website, the space is “synonymous with sartorial elegance. This is upheld by a formal Dress Code, which guests are invited to embrace with their own individual style and thus contribute to an occasion heralded internationally as a major fashion event.”
Men must wear a black, grey, or navy morning suit with a waistcoat and tie—no bow ties allowed. Top hats must be black or grey and worn at all times, except for within a restaurant, private box, balcony, garden, or club. Socks are also required.
For the ladies, hemlines must be of a “modest length” and dresses or tops should have a strap width of at least one inch. Anything strapless, off-the-shoulder, with a halter neck or spaghetti straps is not permitted. Hats are required, according to the Ascot site, or any headpiece with “a solid base of 4 inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat. Fascinators are not permitted.” Jumpsuits and trousers suits are welcome so long as they fall below the knee.
What’s up with the name badges?
If you’ve seen Ascot photographs in the past, you’ve likely noticed members of the royal family with recognizable name badges. You might be thinking: Are those really required? The name tags are part of the Ascot tradition, signaling the level of access one has—including to the Royal Enclosure, according to People magazine. However, the highest-profile attendees are exempt. The Queen does not wear a name tag; although Kate has worn one in the past, she did not on her most-recent appearance. On Tuesday, I noticed Princess Anne, Princess Beatrice and Zara Tindall had their name tags on, while Charles, Camilla, and Sophie did not.
Here’s a welcome name tag update: In the past, attendees were required to pick a prefix of Mr., Mrs., or Miss for their name tag. This year, Ascot introduced the additional option of Mx. “The Mx name option is a natural transition. It should be up to the member how they are referred to on their badge,” Nick Smith, director of racing at the event, told The Telegraph. The paper adds that Ascot “has also had gender-neutral lavatories in place for several years and is now featuring a same-sex couple in its style guide.”
Kate has attended Royal Ascot three times, including in 2019 when she wore Elie Saab. (Photo via Getty Images)
Tell us more about Kate’s Royal Ascot appearances.
The Duchess of Cambridge waited five years to attend her first Royal Ascot. According to Emily Nash of Hello Magazine: “It's understood that the Queen has invited Prince William and Kate to Ascot every year since their wedding in 2011, but the Duchess politely declined until 2016, when she attended for a very special reason—to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday.” Kate returned in 2017 and 2019.
For her Ascot debut, Kate wore a white lace Dolce & Gabbana dress (you know what I think about that brand!). The following year, she pulled a major slideshow dressing moment with a very similar Alexander McQueen style. In 2019, Kate wore her very first Elie Saab ensemble in a color I can only describe as HRH blue (since this is the photo I chose for the cover of my book!).
Meghan chose Givenchy to Royal Ascot in 2018, just a few months after her wedding. (Photo via Getty Images)
And how about Meghan’s?
The Duchess of Sussex attended Royal Ascot in June 2018, just a month or so after her wedding to Harry. She wore an embroidered Givenchy white shirt dress, made by her wedding dress designer Claire Waight Keller and a black-and-white Philip Treacy hat. “The accessory resembled a modern take on an oversized headpiece worn by Audrey Hepburn from her iconic film My Fair Lady in 1964,” wrote Chrissy Rutherford in Harper’s Bazaar.
Did Diana attend Royal Ascot?
Yes! So many times. Tatler has a fantastic slideshow of her appearances.
Diana had some of the best Royal Ascot fashion in her time, including this pink-and-purple skirt suit from 1990. (Photo via Getty Images)
What is the Queen’s role at Royal Ascot?
The Queen wears many hats (pardon the expression!) at Ascot. She has served as its patron since she became Queen in 1952. In her welcoming remarks for the program in 2019, she called it “one of the sporting events that I have been fortunate to enjoy throughout my life.” Through the years, she added, “much has changed, the horses remain the stars, thrilling us with their beauty, brilliance and courage. The quality and the depth of competition at the Royal Meeting has also continued to prosper.”
The Queen is also the owner and breeder of thoroughbred horses; 22 of them have won races at Royal Ascot through the years. “In 2013, Estimate, owned by Her Majesty The Queen, won the Gold Cup—the first time in the race’s 207-year history that it has been won by a reigning monarch,” according to its website. The Associated Press puts the monarch's total winnings over the last three decades at around £7 million (roughly $9 million).
This year, she has “more than 10 horses entered over the five days of the event,” reports ITV. “Her horse Reach For The Moon, which missed out on being entered for the Epsom Derby, is favourite with some bookies to win the Hampton Court Stakes on Thursday with jockey Frankie Dettori taking the reins.”
The Queen at Royal Ascot last year, with one of the priceless smiles she reserves for her horses. (Photo via Getty Images)
Do people really bet on the color of the Queen’s hat?
Yes! Betting is part of the Royal Ascot experience, on the races (obviously) as well as the color of the Queen’s hat. You can place a bet up until 2pm, when the Royal Procession begins. Angela Kelly, the Queen’s trusted advisor and senior dresser, wrote in her book, The Other Side of the Coin, about the lengths required to keep the color a secret:
“Each morning I place four or five previously worn hats on the table in the workroom. They are different colours and styles, and are on display for a reason. Anyone who happens to pass the room will see those hats. They are not hidden behind a closed door and no secret is made of them. This will stop anyone catching sight of the hat Her Majesty actually intends to wear and, with inside knowledge, betting a vast amount of money on the correct colour of the Queen’s hat for opening day at Royal Ascot. This is cheating, and unfair on everyone else. It happened once, which is why this system was devised.”
In the past, the Queen has attended Royal Ascot for all five days. However, this year she was notably absent on Tuesday for opening day—which meant no bets. Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes told the Telegraph, “It really will be the end of an era if we don’t open that book again. We’ll no doubt start taking bets on Kate or Camilla’s hats but it won’t be the same.”
Will the Queen attend this year?
It’s unclear. From People magazine: ”It is thought that the Queen, 96, could step out at another point during the five-day event. As with all of the monarch's public outings, palace sources aren't able to say if she will be able to attend until the hours beforehand due to her ongoing mobility issues.”
I will say that it works in our collective favor that the Ascot racecourse is just seven miles or so from Windsor Castle, where the Queen is based these days. It is my sincere hope that we will see her.
What about Kate? Will she be at Royal Ascot this year?
On Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in London marking the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. But it is likely we will see the pair at Royal Ascot later this week. My guess is Kate will turn up on Thursday, which is known as Ladies Day and has the best fashion. From the Ascot website:
“A major fashion event in its own right, where sartorial trends for the summer season are set, Thursday sees the most spectacular millinery creations on display, and boasts an unprecedented sense of style to match the prestige on the track.”
Ok, let’s do our own bets! What color do you predict Kate will wear to Royal Ascot this year? Please hit “Join the Discussion” and leave your guess is the comments of this newsletter.
The So Many Thoughts newsletter comes out twice a week, featuring royal deep dives and other style stories. Please forward this to a friend! You can subscribe here, follow along on Instagram at @EHolmes, and check out my book, HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style. Thank you so much for supporting my work.