Meghan channels Audrey at Ascot
The Duchess of Sussex has made her debut at Royal Ascot, joining the Queen for her favourite event of the season as she channeled the monochrome style of My Fair Lady.
The Duchess, in a white and black hat and dress, accompanied her husband in an Ascot carriage to the Royal Enclosure, before presenting a trophy to race winner Frankie Dettori.
While she appeared to have taken style inspiration from the outfits of Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle, she suffered no similar etiquette mishaps, mingling with
seasoned racegoers and engaged in cheerful conversation with the Queen.
The Queen, in bright yellow, led her family in the opening day of Royal Ascot, joined by the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Royal and Duke of York with his daughters.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the third carriage of the tradition Royal procession, along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex. They would have had much to talk about, as the newly-wed Sussexes celebrated their “one month anniversary” while the Wessexes marked 19 years since their own Windsor Castle nuptials.
In an unmistakable sign of welcome into the Royal family, the Duke and Duchess were tasked with presenting the trophy for the St James’s Palace Stakes, won by favourite Without Parole ridden by Frankie Dettori and trained by John Gosden.
The Duchess wore an embellished white shirt dress from Givenchy, the fashion house that designed her wedding gown, with a striking hat by Royal favourite Philip Treacy. The colour scheme was reminiscent of the 1964 film My Fair Lady, in which a beautiful Cockney flower seller mingles with high society at Ascot before being unmasked by her coarse shouts of encouragement.
Meanwhile, Zara Tindall has given birth to a baby girl, Buckingham Palace has announced: a sister for Mia.
Mrs Tindall and her husband, Mike, welcomed their new arrival at an NHS hospital, Stroud Maternity Unit, on Monday.
The Queen was said to be “delighted” by news of her seventh great-grandchild, as she celebrated with the Princess Royal, the baby’s grandmother, at Royal Ascot.
At 9lbs 3oz, the baby is thought to be the largest new arrival on record for the Royal family in recent history, surpassing Savannah Phillips at 8lb 8oz and Prince Louis at 8lb 7oz.