Lady with feather hat

Man with floral headgear. Barred from Royal Enclosure

Royal Ascot week is such a social occasion of high fashion for the 280,000 strong sea of celebrities and fashionistas, graced as it is each day by Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family, that one almost forgets that one is here for the racing.

'One', in the person of Queen Elizabeth, certainly does not forget! This is her racecourse and Her race meeting; a royal preserve since Queen Anne laid out the course in 1711, and Her Majesty would dearly love to have a winner here this week, as she did 60 years ago with Choir Boy in her Coronation year. She has had 21 winners here since that day, but has yet to produce a Gold Cup winner from the royal stables. Her horse Estimate will start odds-on favorite for that prestigious race on Thursday, and it will be a popular win with everyone but the bookies.

But back to the faces and fashions! This is the year's highlight for milliners and their fanciful creations will hog the limelight on Ladies Day. So fanciful indeed have these become that the dress code for entrance to the Royal Enclosure had to be reinforced last year. That chapeau, which cost a small fortune, must now have a base which is at least four inches in diameter, and a gentleman's top hat may not be decorated with floral garnish. This is Royal Ascot, not the May Day Helston Floral Dance!

Whatever dress code may be enforced at Royal Ascot this year, gentlemen must wear a top hat, (which he is allowed to take off in a restaurant), and Ladies will continue to defy the wind and laws of gravity with fantastic headpieces, to the delight of the popular press picture editors.

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