SPLASHCOT!
Worst rain for 40 years... but the Queen is a ray of sunshine
THEY had dressed in their finest for a summer’s day out at the races. But greeted with the worst downpour for 40 years, racegoers at the opening day of Royal Ascot went to extraordinary lengths to keep their outfits dry.
Chivalrous gents carried ladies in their arms so they didn’t have to walk through puddles and some women donned wellies or removed their shoes altogether.
It was only after the Queen arrived in a sun- shine-yellow coat and hat that the heavy rain finally stopped. Unfazed by the weather, she beamed and waved as she entered the racecourse. Her coat and yellow and blue dress by British designer Stewart Parvin were topped off with a yellow hat by British milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan. The Queen, who has been at every Royal meeting at Ascot during her reign, described attending the racecourse with her family as one of her most ‘cherished’ memories. In a foreword to the event’s programme, she wrote: ‘I have been deeply touched by the kind birthday wishes I have received this year and to have this milestone commemorated in the title of Royal Ascot’s centrepiece race, The Gold Cup.’
At least eight horses pulled out of yesterday’s event and the ground at the track was officially declared ‘soft’ for the first time since 1971.
Despite the grim weather, attendance numbers for the opening day were slightly up on last year at 47,629, compared with 47,250 on the same day last year.