King Charles and Queen Camilla attend Royal Ascot

The King and Queen entertained Camilla’s relatives at the first Royal Ascot of the new reign on Tuesday, heralding a new era for the race meeting and the family.

They swept on to the royal racecourse in a traditional carriage procession that showcased the Windsors’ new wider family, the in-laws expected to be invited to royal gatherings from now on.

King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 75, waved to the crowds in the grandstand as they were driven down the course in a carriage with their friends the Duke and Duchess of Wellington.

Behind them travelled Princess Anne with Camilla’s younger sister Annabel Elliot, the Queen’s nephew Sir Ben Elliot, the former co-chair of the Conservative Party knighted in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list, and his wife Lady Elliot, daughter of musician Steve Winwood.

In the parade ring, Camilla’s son, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, 48, was waiting to greet them along with other members of the wider Royal Family before heading to the royal box.

The group exchanging kisses included Zara and Mike Tindall, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and Peter Phillips and girlfriend Lindsay Wallace.

Tom kissed with his mother, who was wearing a cream embroidered coat and dress by Dior, a Philip Treacy hat, and a diamond and oyster shell brooch with pearl that once belonged to Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother before her.

The forecast rain held off mercifully and there was a healthy crowd for the first day of the five-day meeting, as the bullish Ascot authorities insisted there was no sign of Britain’s cost of living crisis affecting attendances.

Will Aitkenhead, a spokesman for Ascot, which is owned by the monarch but attracts people from all social backgrounds to its races, said: “We’ve seen strong sales across the board and attendance is forecast at 265,000 for the week – very similar to last year which was around 270,000. The Queen Anne Enclosure is sold out on Thursday and Saturday.”

Before the royals arrived in the parade ring there was a tribute to Elizabeth II, featuring archive footage of her at Ascot, on the big screen. A photographic exhibition in the grandstand also paid tribute to her 24 winners at Ascot.

The King and Queen have taken on the late monarch’s thoroughbreds and have entered a string of horses over the next five days.

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But their first runner, Saga, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was unable to add to the tally of royal winners on Tuesday, finishing fifth in the Wolferton Stakes.

Royal Ascot is as much a social occasion as a sporting event and among those wearing the traditional outlandish hats was Ines Hernandez, an American GP who regularly travels to the UK to attend the meeting.

Mrs Hernandez, who is also a milliner, was wearing a hat in the shape of a large butterfly she had designed from paisley-patterned material, repeated in her trouser suit.

She said: “The Queen was a great supporter of Royal Ascot, and I think she would have wanted that relationship between Ascot and the Royal Family to keep going when she was gone, and hopefully Charles will keep supporting it.”

Milliner Viv Jenner had a striking a hat featuring ostrich quills and a stylised St George’s flag, she said: “I designed this with the King in mind – it’s new beginnings.

“After last summer I wanted to make a hat in the racing silks of our new King – red and purple and gold – and I’ll be wearing it on Ladies Day this week.”

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