Royal Ascot is a horseracing meeting held annually at the Berkshire village of Ascot and dates back to 1711. The Royal connection apart from the attendance of the Royal Family is the course is owned by the Crown Estate and is only 6 miles from the royal residence of Windsor castle. Ascot is one of the premier racecourses in England staging 9 of the UK’s top 32 races. This year the Royal Ascot meeting will be held from 16th to 20th June.
Although there are no formal dress codes outside of the grandstand (apart from a ban on bare chests!) a no jeans and shorts rule applies in the grandstand. Ladies are required to ‘dress in a manner appropriate to a smart occasion.’
For the royal enclosure strict dress codes are employed requiring men to dress in full morning dress including a top hat and ladies must wear a hat and not show bare midriffs.
Ladies Day on the 18th will be a chance for ladies to show off their designer clothes. One special feature of ladies day is the wearing of stylish and often outlandish hats.