THE PRINCESS of Wales dazzled at Royal Ascot today in a beautiful red Alexander McQueen dress and matching headpiece.

The stylish mum-of-three looked effortlessly elegant as she led the Royal procession with the Prince of Wales in Berkshire on Friday afternoon.

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This is the first time the Prince and Princess of Wales have attended Royal Ascot this year, despite King Charles and Queen Camilla being in attendance every day.

The couple live close to the racecourse, having moved to their four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage in Windsor’s Home Park last year, to offer their children more freedom away from central London.

William and Kate were guests of the late Queen a number of times at Royal Ascot, a racecourse the monarch had a great affinity with and where she had more than 20 winners.

Kate and William’s carriage followed behind the King and Queen, and they were joined by William’s cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Meanwhile, Hollywood royalty also took part in the royal procession, with Dame Judi Dench and partner David Mills in carriage four.

Yesterday, King Charles had a tear in his eye as he watched a horse he inherited from his late mother spring a Royal Ascot shock.

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The King and Queen Camilla were seen cheering wildly in the Royal Box as they saw 18-1 outsider Desert Hero win the £50,000 King George V Stakes.

Charles and Camilla inherited the entire Royal racing operation after the late Queen passed away last September.

There were doubts over Charles’ love of the sport his late mum held so close to her heart.

One report claimed he was ‘not looking forward’ to Ascot and considered it an ‘ordeal’.

But there was no questioning his joy at bagging a big winner at racing’s poshest meeting.

Each morning the gates open at 10.30am each day, ready for the anticipated first race which kicks off at 2.30pm.

There are then seven races throughout the day, the last of which commencing at 6.10pm.

And, of course, 2pm on each day of racing is the royal procession.

As well as the racing, there’s also lots of other things for the lucky guests to enjoy. 

It’s predicted that the fine dining curated by 350 chefs will serve up 35,000 spears of English asparagus, more than 10,000 steaks, 8,000 Cornish crabs, 7,000 rumps of English lamb, 5,000kg of salmon and 3,500 fresh lobsters throughout the entire week. 

What’s more, the Royal Meeting will also serve more than a quarter of a million finger sandwiches, 240,000 hand-crafted cakes, 120,000 buttermilk scones, 110,000 cups of tea, 7,000 punnets of mixed berries and 1,200kg of Cornish clotted cream.

Royal Ascot was held behind closed doors in 2020, and in 2021 limited racegoers were admitted after it was selected to take part in a Covid event research programme.

But, in 2023, approximately 400 helicopters and 1,000 limousines will descend on Royal Ascot, with an average of 60,000 racegoers each day.

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