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Leaving the personalities out of it for the nonce, one must say that the royals look very stylish. After all, they are fulfilling traditions of over two centuries. This may be meaningless to us, but to the English the traditional Ascot fashion parade is expected and eagerly awaited.

The Queen looked bright as a spring jonquil. Prince Philip picks up the Queen's color with the yellow flower in the lapel of his well-tailored suit. A striking couple considering their ages.

Prince Charles and Camilla's outfits harmonized beautifully. Very serene colors of muted gray and off-white. Her hat may look better "in person" than it does on the closeup, but the effect is very gauzy with the color going very well with her hair and skin tones. Charles' touches of violet and lavender on his gray suit broke up the light colors and lent a bit of perkiness to the couple's costumes.......and were apropos for this spring event in the sceptr'd isle.

Although caught by the camera in a Nancy Pelosi moment, Princess Anne carried off a color that could be considered garish if not accoutered perfectly. The hat works because it's proportioned smaller and more tailored than most Ascot hats. The higher-in-the-back collar on the suit provides a nice flow from hat to shoulders. The ensemble is quite striking on the Princess. The discreet pearls on hat, ears and neck toned things down a bit making the colorful outfit easy on the eyes.

All in all, the royal retinue looked wonderful and I'm sure their subjects in the stands had lots of fun and pride enjoying and dissecting what their First Family was wearing.

Leni

Thanks, Leni, for the detailed fashion analysis.

Style and tradition are never meaningless. Ascot, and English traditions have greatly influenced American fashion. Ralph Lauren built his fashion empire on bringing “that look” to the American market.

I loved Princess Anne’s dashing orange. It is a color most would never dare to wear.