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British Royals

IN PHOTOS: The Royal Family at Day One of Royal Ascot 2021

The Queen missed day one of Royal Ascot but she sent back up. Several senior members of the Royal Family were in attendance as the famous meeting got under way with spectators allowed in for the first time since 2019. There was no carriage procession and the main fashion focus was on masks rather than hats but, after the big regal turnout in Cornwall for the G7 summit and Trooping the Colour just hours afterwards, this was another step towards the royal diary we used to know.

Leading the field

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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall led the royals on day one of Royal Ascot. Charles and Camilla arrived by limousine as the meeting got under way on June 15th 2021.

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The couple did the honours and presented the prizes following day one’s featured race, the St. James’ Palace Stakes.

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The Duchess of Cornwall is known for her facemask fashion and matched her mask to her dress. Camilla kept cool in the hot summer sun with a striped coat dress in shades of ice blue by Bruce Oldfield which came complete with identical facemask. Her wide brimmed hat was by Philip Treacy.

Counting on the Countess

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The Countess of Wessex never fails to impress with her style picks at Royal Ascot and Sophie was clearly back in her comfort zone as she attended day one of the 2021 meeting.

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Sophie went for a perfect mask match as well, adding a plain ivory face covering to her look featuring a cream silk dress by ARoss Girl with a wide brimmed straw hat.

Anne makes her mark

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The Princess Royal’s passion for all things equine is more than well known but Anne had a message of her own to convey as she attended day one of Royal Ascot. The princess chose a face mask from the Injured Jockeys’ Fund, of which she is patron.

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The eye catching covering had plenty of blue in it which tied in with her rather regal suit. A plain blue dress was with a blue jacket with featuring a silver pattern across it. There was also a scarf. Ever practical, we all know you can’t trust the British weather even on a day when the thermometer hits 25 Celsius.

Spot the new mum enjoying a day out

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Zara and Mike Tindall got a day off from baby duties as they headed to Ascot for their first big day out since welcoming their third child, Lucas, in March. Zara chose a pale dress with mini spot pattern and feature belt, hem and cuffs with bigger spots.

Royal Ascot runs all week and Royal Central will have full coverage as well as a full report from the racetrack later this week with our editor-in-chief, Charlie Procter. He’s also taken over our Instagram stories and is sharing exclusives there right now.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Editor in Chief at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.