Queen Camilla is joined at Royal Ascot by King Charles, Zara and Sophie for Ladies Day - but looks frustrated as she watches the races

Queen Camilla appeared frustrated - and very animated -  today as she watched the races alongside the royal family at Ascot.

Dressed in all white, Camilla put on a very expressive display as she held on to binoculars and watched the races from the royal enclosure after arriving alongside the King and Duke and Duchess and Devonshire. 

After leading the royal procession, the pair then headed to the royal enclosure, where Camilla appeared on the edge of her seat - perhaps indicating the race didn't have her desired outcome. 

The King, who didn't attend the racecourse yesterday in favour of investitures, opted for a classic top hat and tails look, pairing a grey suit with a complementary powder blue waistcoat and pink tie.

The Queen, who yesterday attended with her stepson Prince William and his in-laws Carole and Michael Middleton, wore an all white look with a stand-out Dehli Carved Emerald Brooch. The piece was gifted to  Queen Mary in 1911 when she attended the Delhi Durbar, the coronation in India.

The pair were joined by their keen equestrian niece Zara Tindall and her husband Mike.

Zara, 43, wowed in an all blue Rebecca Vallance dress and bespoke Hettie by Tusting clutch bag as she rode in a carriage alongside husband Mike and  The Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon.

Also attending was Zara's mother Princess Anne - who is also an Olympic equestrian - and her husband Sir Admiral Timothy Laurence.

The daughter of billionaire Aga Khan's, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, joined the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in another carriage. 

Princess Margaret's children, the Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto also joined the royal procession.

It comes as The Princess of Wales' mother and father - Carole and Michael Middleton - attended the second day of Royal Ascot, in their first public appearance since their daughter's cancer diagnosis.

Dressed in all their finery, the beaming couple looked in good spirits as they arrived side-by-side for the prestigious event at the Berkshire racecourse - alongside royals such as Zara and Mike Tindall.

The Middletons' outing comes after their daughter Kate, 42, who has been receiving chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer since February, made a spectacular return to public life during Trooping the Colour on Saturday.

Prince William, who led the royal carriage procession along side Queen Camilla in the absence of his father on day two of the society event, spent time chatting to his mother and father-in-law ahead of the races beginning.

In spite of the absence of the King and Princess of Wales from the event, there was a strong turnout of royals today, with the Windsors - and the Middletons - putting on a united front in the face of recent adversities. 

Royal Ascot, the jewel in the crown of the UK racing calendar, started on Tuesday with the Queen Anne Stakes and will run until Saturday. 

Radiant guests turned the racecourse into a sea of colourful ensembles as they stepped out for the prestigious occasion. 

Those trying to command attention amongst the crowd of thousands opted for unique headwear - including a unicorn-themed creation and even an owl design. 

Novelty hats appeared to be the biggest trend of the day, with one person turning up with a burger inspired hat and another showing off a chessboard fascinator.

The wacky, gravity-defying style of hats are permitted in most of the areas at Ascot, except from the Royal Enclosure.

'A hat or headpiece with a solid base of four inches in diameter is mandatory in the Royal Enclosure,' explained the Royal Ascot website. 

'Fascinators are not permitted. Novelty hats (i.e. ones which are excessively oversized, or are promoting or marketing any product or brand) are not permitted.' 

This year's meeting will have an overall prize-money pot of £10million. This is a record amount for Royal Ascot. The minimum winnings for all eight Group 1 races will be £650,000. 

It was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 after she declared Ascot ideal for 'horses to gallop at full stretch' and has today become a major social event as well as a sporting attraction. 

For the first time in its 313-year history, Ascot Racecourse announced this year the appointment of a creative director.

British fashion designer Daniel Fletcher was responsible for the creation of the annual Lookbook and Millinery Collective in 2024, which set the style tone for the year and often inspire racegoers' outfits.

He's known for his classically tailored silhouettes and modern gender-fluid clothes; his Spring/Summer 2023 collection included corset designs for both men and women.

The Cheshire-born designer, whose first customer was the eccentric Harry Styles, told GQ in 2023: 'The idea of an item of clothing being for a specific gender is such a funny one.

'I understand that something like a bra is designed for function, but when it comes to a shirt, why would we apply gender to something like that? And for me, the same applies to the corset.' 

Former One Direction member Harry whose style has included jumpsuits, feather boas, skirts and dresses, became Daniel's first customer after buying all the boxy short-sleeved shirts from the designer's graduate collection in 2015. 

'Harry had a huge impact on my career,' Daniel admitted to GQ in 2020. 'At 24 years old I couldn’t believe what was happening.' 

Since then, the designer's career has gone from strength to strength, with A-listers including James McAvoy, Robert Pattinson, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Corrin and Emerald Fennell wearing his looks.

The Central Saint Martins graduate has also designed for some of the world’s most prestigious houses including Louis Vuitton, Lanvin and JW Anderson and held the role of Artistic Director for Italian label Fiorucci between 2019 and 2023. 

He was nominated for the LVMH prize in 2017, was a winner of the European Semi- Final of the International Woolmark Prize and named Breakthrough Designer of The Year in the 2020 GQ Men of The Year Awards. 

After many successful seasons showing his collections on the London Fashion Week schedule, Daniel took part in Netflix’s ‘Next In Fashion’ series which saw him make it to the final.

Of his latest appointment, Daniel said: 'I’m thrilled to be appointed as Ascot’s first Creative Director and have thrown myself into the new role. 

'I’m keen to encapsulate the rich heritage of the racecourse while embracing the unique dress codes, adding a contemporary twist to bring a flair that Ascot hasn’t seen before. 

'For 2024, I want to inspire racegoers to push the boundaries with their own unique style and immerse themselves in the opportunity to embrace their own creativity – and what better occasion than Royal Ascot! 

'I’m super excited to reveal the next evolution of style direction for the world- renowned brand and can’t wait for the vision to become a reality.'