Style takes the reins: Racegoers dazzle on day one at Ascot
17 June 2025, 12:23 | Updated: 17 June 2025, 12:33
Around 270,000 are expected to attend Royal Ascot, one of the biggest events in the British racing calendar, and for many, fashion is as important as the horse racing
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Gates opened on Tuesday for the five-day spectacle that promises both thrilling horse racing and head-turning outfits, with style an integral part of the tradition.
Each enclosure at the Berkshire racecourse upholds its own dress code, and this will even apply to the King and Queen, who are set to make an appearance.
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Indeed, for the Royal Enclosure, the event's most exclusive area, ladies must wear a dress or skirt falling just above the knee or longer, shoulder straps that are a minimum width of 1 inch / 2.5cm, and hats must be worn. However, a headpiece or hatinator with a minimum base diameter of 4 inches / 10cm is acceptable, according to Ascot's website.
Men must wear a morning dress of black, grey, or navy material, a waistcoat and necktie (patterns of a patriotic nature, for example, a national flag, are acceptable), a black or grey top hat, and black dress shoes worn with socks covering the ankle.
Racegoers have been known to take the dress code and run with it, with many arriving in highly elaborate and highly fashionable ensembles.
The racecourse was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne who, when riding out, found an ideal place for "horses to gallop at full stretch".
Since then, the event Royal Ascot has long been a favourite for the Royal Family.
Charles III and Camilla, both fans of racing, are likely to arrive in the famous carriage procession along the course and past the stands that will welcome hundreds of thousands of punters.
The head of state and his wife will be hoping for a winner in the Ascot Stakes when their horse Reaching High, trained by Willie Mullins, takes on other thoroughbreds.
Mullins, reflecting on the thoroughbred’s narrow defeat at Leopardstown racecourse in Ireland, said: “I’ve been very happy since his first run, he did everything nicely at Leopardstown and if he could run a similar type of race at Ascot I would be very pleased.”
Queen Elizabeth II was a passionate owner and breeder of thoroughbreds and had more than 20 Royal Ascot winners during her 70-year reign.
Charles and Camilla have taken on her stable of horses and enjoyed their first Royal Ascot winner in 2023 when their horse Desert Hero triumphed in the King George V Stakes.
