The Queen rounded off Ladies' Day at Ascot in spectacular style when she presented an ecstatic Frankie Dettori with the Gold Cup after the Italian jockey rode to victory on joint favourite Stradivarius
The Queen, resplendent in pink, was joined by royals including Princess Anne, the Duke of York and his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie as she enjoyed a third day in a row at her favourite equestrian event of the year
There is some £7.3 million up for grabs at this year's races, making it a bumper year, and the royals have been taking part in the betting fun - despite the Countess of Wessex, dressed in a Jane Taylor London hat, losing out yesterday when three of her horses failed to come in
Thursday began with the Royal Procession, an annual tradition that marks the start of the day's festivities with the day culminating in the much-anticipated Gold Cup, Ascot's oldest surviving race, won by fan favourite Dettori
The champion jockey said: 'That’s 60 wins here, six Gold Cups and I’m only 47, in case you forget!'I come alive here, I love it
I think the crowd lifted him [Stradivarius]. The Gold Cup is the showcase of the week and to win it again, my first one for John Gosden, it’s great for the team
' Scroll down for video Earlier in the day, disaster struck when a member of the royal procession suffered a nasty fall
It is not clear if he was harmed, however images show the footman appearing to get back on his feet moments later
This year the Queen was joined in her landau by Prince Andrew, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Sir Nicholas Bacon, with the second carriage playing host to Princess Royal Anne, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie
They were closely followed by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Earl and Countess of Snowdon in the third carriage, with the Troughton and O'Lone families in the fourth and final carriage
The Queen made her entrance in a Stewart Parvin pink A-line coat, silk dress in shades of lilac and pink and a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan
Her bright pink hat meant punters had correctly backed the colour of the head of state's hat for the third day running - a traditional bet at Royal Ascot
Eugenie, who will tie the knot at Windsor Castle in October, wore a blue and yellow Erdem number featuring a pie crust collar, while her older sister opted for a monochrome ensemble from Jonathan Simkhai
Both of Prince Andrew's daughters wore millinery from Edinburgh based milliner Sally Ann Provan, with Beatrice in a herringbone hat with satin roses, and Eugenie in a straw boater festooned with origami flowers
Meanwhile, The Queen pulled out all the stops in her vibrant pink tweed coat and matching hat trimmed with feathers, teamed with a glittering brooch, string of pearls and a pair of delicate white gloves
The term Ladies Day was coined in 1823 when an anonymous poet described the Thursday of the annual meeting as 'Ladies' Day … when the women, like angels, look sweetly divine
'While there is no official prize on offer for best dressed lady as there is at other race meetings, ticket holders were still eager to put their best foot forward
Up to 300,000 people are due to descend on the event over the course of five days and naturally the stylish day out is a magnet for celebrities, and is predicted to be a star-studded occasion
With the clue in the name, Royal Ascot is hugely popular with the monarchy and Her Majesty has attended every year since ascending the throne
On Tuesday, she introduced the newest member of the family - the Duchess of Sussex - to the event for the first time, and yesterday attended with Prince Charles, Camilla and the Earl and Countess of WessexHowever, Zara Tindall will be a notable absentee from proceedings this year after giving birth to her second child - a baby girl - on Monday, while the Duchess of Cambridge is also expected to bow out, as she focuses on spending time with newborn Prince Louis
Racegoers galloped past the winning post in the fashion stakes this morning as Ladies' Day got underway with a sea of weird and wonderful hats
Nothing was too outlandish for some of the female guests, who wore everything from jungle scenes to bottles of champagne and even a lobster on their heads
The famous meet, attended by the Queen every year, attracts the best jockeys and trainers in racing and fans of the sport from all walks of life who enjoy the fashion
Lindsay Anderson, 57, had onlookers doing a double take with her champagne-themed top hat complete with a horse jumping over the brim and two champagne flutes
The senior staff nurse, who works at West Suffolk Hospital, said: 'I found all the little bits and pieces yesterday and put them together last night
'I've got Frankie Dettori jumping out of a bottle of champagne, it's really a model of Lester Piggott but don't tell anyone
'The string of pearls coming out of the top are bubbles - it's just a bit of fun.'Husband and wife Rebecca Johnson, 64, and Brian Mann, 69, from Wokingham, Berkshire, arrived in outfits decorated with rainbows
While Ms Johnson had a multi-coloured hat and dress, her partner sported a waistcoat of many colours
She said: 'We spend a lot of time in Florida and during the spring we had a lot of rainbows from the tropical rain so we thought we'd bring a bit of colour to Ascot
'Inga Kovalerova had made a hat with a lobster crawling out of a pot surrounded by strings of pearls
She said: 'The hat was inspired by my move to Scotland. I'm moving from England to Troon, which is by the sea, so my partner suggested I make a lobster-themed hat
'Fellow racegoer Charlotte Ricard-Quesada, 30, amazed racegoers with her jungle-themed headpiece
She said: 'I came up with the idea of something tropical and wanted a toucan at the centre so I created it with (milliner) Pearls & Swine
'It's very lightweight but I'm having a bit of trouble with this wind. My dress is from Dolce & Gabbana and it's covered with palm leaves, so it carries on the theme