Glamorous racegoers have pulled out all the sartorial stops as they arrived at Royal Ascot today to kick off the annual celebration in style.

Huge hats, vibrant dresses and feathered fascinators were all on display as thousands of revellers descended on the Berkshire racecourse this morning.

Royal Ascot, the jewel in the crown of the UK racing calendar, starts today with the Queen Anne Stakes and The King Charles III Stakes and will run until Saturday. 

The prestigious festival is just as famous for its fashion as it is for its races - and this year, statement hats were the focal point of revellers' eye-popping looks as day one of the annual race meeting got underway.

Dressed to impress, guests wore a variety of show-stopping headpieces as they descended on Ascot for a day of equestrian fun.

Floral prints, maxi dresses and vibrant outfits were also the order of the day for many, while others looked effortlessly elegant in crisp white frocks.

The festival was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 after she declared Ascot ideal for 'horses fit for kings' and has today become a major social event as well as a sporting attraction. 

Stylish racegoers at today's event turned the racecourse into a sea of vibrant outfits as they donned bright prints to ensure they stood out from the crowd.

Royal Ascot is known for its strict dress code. Whilst no dress code rules apply in the Windsor Enclosure, although the majority of guests choose to dress up regardless, a strict dress code operates across the Royal and Queen Anne Enclosures. 

Hats are a must in both Royal enclosures. Alternatively, a headpiece or ‘hatinator’ with a minimum base diameter of 4 inches (10cm) is also acceptable.

Dresses must be knee length or longer and forget spaghetti straps - all shoulders must be a minimum width of 1 inch (2.5cm). 

Strapless, off-the-shoulder and one shoulder items are also banned in the Royal and Queen Anne Enclosures. 

Shorts of any kind are not permitted. But having been included in the dress code since 1971, trouser suits remain a popular choice - although they mustn’t be mismatched. 

From 2017 onwards, jumpsuits have also been accepted as Ascot worthy, while men must stick to black dress shoes worn with ankle socks, but there are no footwear specifications for women. 

Meanwhile, Royal Ascot will get under way on today in almost perfect conditions with the ground described as good to firm, good in places.

Clerk of the course Chris Stickels told Sky Sports Racing: 'We had a bit of light drizzle this morning, but that has cleared away and the sun is starting to come out. We are good to firm, good in places.

'We’re very happy. We had what for us was a very useful wet couple of weeks at the beginning of the month. That gave us some moisture and we’ve needed to do a little watering, particularly on the straight course, just to maintain that.

'We’d want to be mainly good to firm and that is what we’ll be. I think it will go good to firm tomorrow through racing and then we’ll try to maintain that.

'It does look like it will be mainly dry with the chance of an odd shower on Wednesday and Thursday and maybe some thundery showers on Friday, but we’re too far away to be sure of that.'

It comes as Jim Goldie is confident American Affair will put up a staunch defence of his crown in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The six-year-old provided his Scottish trainer with a first taste of Group One success in this race 12 months ago and it was unfortunate for all concerned that a subsequent injury meant he was not seen again in 2025.

But with a comeback run at York in mid-May blowing away any cobwebs, American Affair finished a close second behind the reopposing Night Raider in Haydock’s Temple Stakes, and Goldie is hopeful the stable star is coming to the boil at just the right time ahead of his return to Berkshire.

He said: 'We’re very happy with him, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating won’t it?

'The ground looks as though it is going to be exactly the way it was last year and we’ve got a similar draw (stall 18) which is good and there’s plenty of pace around us. 

'We’re next to the Australian horse (Overpass) who you would think will go quick, but our horse thinks he’s pretty quick as well! It should be a good race and we’re looking forward to it.'