King Charles and Queen Camilla lead royal family arrivals as Royal Ascot begins

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have led members of their family on the first day of the biggest and most glamorous racing festival of the year, Royal Ascot.

The monarch and his wife arrived at the Berkshire racecourse in a carriage on Tuesday, marking the 200th anniversary of the First Royal Procession – a tradition began by George IV in 1825.

They were joined by the Princess Royal, who was in the second carriage alongside Queen Camilla's sister, Annabel Elliot.

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Queen Camilla wore the large diamond Cullinan V brooch, often seen on the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The 18.8 carat brooch was famously worn by Queen Camilla at her husband's coronation in May, 2023, when it was set into the front of Queen Mary's crown.

Princess Anne's son, Peter Phillips and his girlfriend, Harriet Sperling, rode in the third carriage.

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The event marked Sperling's first time in a carriage procession with the royal family, following their public debut in May last year.

His sister Zara Tindall was seen arriving at the Royal Enclosure hand-in-hand with husband Mike.

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All the royals and star guests seen at Royal Ascot 2025

Zara, 44, wore a blue dress by Australian designer Rebecca Vallance.

Princess Beatrice – wearing a pink gingham set by Beulah London – and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi arrived shortly after, along with Sarah, Duchess of York.

The Duchess of Edinburgh was also at the prestigious event, which runs for five days.

Royal Ascot was one of Queen Elizabeth II's most loved fixtures on the calendar and she had more than 20 winners during her 70-year reign.

While King Charles' passion for horses does not run as deep as his late mother's, the monarch is still a keen racegoer and was hoping for victory on day one of the event.

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In a joint foreword to the official race card, the King and Queen wrote of "having experienced the thrill of victory at Royal Ascot in 2023".

It was then that Desert Hero, a horse inherited from Elizabeth II, won the King George V Stakes.

Charles' horse Reaching High was a favourite to win the 5pm race on Tuesday, being the son of Estimate, the horse owned by the late Queen that saw her in the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013.

But it was not to be with the horse placing ninth and the King missing out on the £110,000 prize money (approx. $228,000).

The King is expected to be at Royal Ascot every day this week, with palace sources saying there has been no change made to his regular cancer treatment, The Times reports.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are also set to appear in the coming days.

Last year, Catherine was absent from the festival due to her cancer treatment. Prince William attended day two without his wife.

On Monday, Prince William and Kate joined the rest of the royal family at Windsor Castle for Garter Day.

And on Saturday, the couple and their children took centre stage on the balcony of Buckingham Palace celebrating the King's official birthday parade, Trooping the Colour.

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