Royal Ascot is one of the highlights of the summer social calendar for royalty, racing fans and fashionistas who love a good day out.
And while Ladies Day at the Berkshire course doesn’t take place until Thursday, early arrivals today were certainly keen to keep the glamour stakes high.
Attendees put on a colourful display in dresses emblazoned with flowers, leaves and even a pineapple.
Racegoers faced breathalyser tests and a team of sniffer dogs at the gate. There is also a crackdown on beer sales and an increased stewarding presence.
Feeling fruity! A racegoer looked striking in a palm print dressed adorned with a large pineapple. Another was eye-catching in an orange and pink ensemble teamed with a feathered hat
Friends put on a glamorous display in their race day finery as they prepared to enjoy a day of sporting action
Ready for action! Racegoers started streaming through the gates at around 10.30 for the second day of the popular racing festival
A smartly dressed couple made their way through the grounds as day two of Royal Ascot got underway
An ugly brawl broke out at a Saturday race meeting at the track in May, putting a spotlight on the increasing use of recreational drugs and excessive drinking at racecourses. One of the biggest changes that racegoers will notice at the royal meeting is the absence of ‘beer hawkers’ — staff carrying beer on their backs to sell in the crowds.
Other new measures in the ‘behavioural management’ plan include an increase in the high-visibility response team to more than 100 stewards, and more specialist incident spotters.
More than 20 sniffer dogs will also patrol the Berkshire course, and in an unprecedented move, the canines will be seen near the toilets, in an effort to reduce recreational drug use.
Up to 300,000 people are due to descend on the event over the course of five days, including the Queen who has attended every year since she came to the throne in 1952.
Yesterday, Her Majesty was accompanied by her grandson Prince Harry, 33, and his wife the Duchess of Sussex, 36, who was making her Ascot debut.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex presented the trophy to the winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall also attended, as did Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
The Duke of Cambridge stakes takes place this afternoon, but Prince William has only once presented the trophy so his presence today is by no means guaranteed.
And his wife Kate, who has attended in previous years, may well stay at home with her newborn, Prince Louis.
Zara Tindall will also be a notable absentee from this year’s proceedings after giving birth to her second child – a daughter – on Monday, at Stroud Maternity Unit.
A member ofThames Valley police carries out a security check with a sniffer dog during day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse
Ground staff tend to the course prior to the start of the action on day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse