The Queen looked splendid in a powder blue coat and dress as she arrived by carriage with Prince Philip for the opening day

The Queen arrived for Royal Ascot today amid all the pomp and pageantry expected at the first day of the world-famous race meet.

As befits Royal tradition dating back 300 years to when Queen Anne founded the Royal Ascot in 1711, the monarch, accompanied by Prince Philip in the horse-drawn royal carriage, led a procession from from Windsor Castle to the Berkshire race course this afternoon.

The Queen, whose choice of hat colour is always the subject of frenzied bets, looked immaculate as ever in a powder blue dress and coat by Stewart Parvin.
The colour would have come to no surprise to Royal fashion watchers, who recently found that the Queen last year chose to wear blue on 29 per cent of her public engagements - three times as often as she wore any other colour.
Her trimmed hat, by Rachel Trevor-Morgan, matched the fabric of her coat perfectly, and on her lapel she wore an impressive diamond and aquamarine brooch.
Prince Philip, who has recovered well from the nasty bladder infection that saw him admitted to hospital following the Jubilee weekend celebrations, sat beside his wife for the short journey.