Meghan Markle leads Royals at Ascot - in pictures

Image 1 of 5

Meghan Markle made her royal debut at the Ascot races yesterday, exactly a month after her wedding to Prince Harry.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined Queen Elizabeth for the opening of the five-day event, a highlight of the horse-racing calendar.

The newly-weds arrived at the Berkshire course by carriage and ate lunch with Her Majesty. The couple later presented a trophy to jockey Frankie Dettori for his win in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Bookmakers had been taking bets on the colour of the Queen’s hat, “which turned out to be yellow with a blue flower”, says the BBC.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla also attended the races yesterday, as did Harry’s cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

However, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children were absent. The Duchess was reportedly looking after Prince Louis, now just over two months old, and Prince William was attending the International Business Festival in Liverpool. As the official patron of the festival, he gave a keynote address, talking about business, trade, and commerce, on behalf of the Royal Family.

Click on the gallery above for more pictures of the Royals at Ascot.