The week of June 18 will go down in history as a feast for royal fashion. First there was Princess Kate's meaningful Trooping the Colour appearance, in a repurposed white coronation dress by Jenny Packham that matched her daughter, Princess Charlotte. Then there was Princess Eugenie in a timeless little black dress on the international fashion awards circuit. Last but not least? Both Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall appeared at the 2024 Royal Ascot on Tuesday, June 18, in outfits that subtly coordinated while sticking to the regal dress code.
For the uninitiated: The Royal Ascot is an annual five days of horse races hosted by Britain's reigning monarchs (in this case, King Charles III and Queen Camilla) at the Ascot Racecourse right outside of London. Around 300,000 spectators come to see the races and the associated fashion. Between daily royal processions into the races and the enormous swath of London society in attendance, there are usually a lot of excellent dresses and even more iconic hats to take in.
Princess Eugenie was the first sighting to get fashion people excited about this year's lineup. She arrived in a pastel green dress by Diane von Furstenberg, featuring a twisted neckline and a flowing skirt. Enhancing the fresh floral energy of her light dress, she added a pair of bow-embellished Aquazzura pumps—one of her favorite footwear designers—and two total pieces of headgear: a slanted, flat fascinator and a gigantic peony hair clip.
Princess Eugenie wasn't the only royal (or rather, royal-adjacent) winning the Ascot's first fashion race. Equestrian, Olympian, and cousin to the princess Zara Tindall arranged a Royal Ascot outfit that transformed sunshine into a bright midi dress. At the same time, it inadvertently played off Princess Eugenie's outfit.
Tindall grounded her look in a yellow dress with a semi-sheer bodice and exaggerated puff sleeves. She color-coordinated from tip to toe, with a slanted sunhat of her own and a pair of nude, pointed-toe pumps. (Exact credits for her look weren't yet published at press time.) Between the shades of pastel, the similarly shaped hats, and the affinity for no-nonsense yet elegant footwear, it seemed as though the royal cousins were on the same style wavelength for the day.
The Royal Ascot will run through June 22, raising hopes for more royal style moments that turn the event into a family affair. Instead of attending the race's opening, Princess Beatrice had a low-maintenance travel day en route to Cannes Lions, a marketing summit, where she discussed artificial intelligence on a panel. She's only a few hours away from London should she decide to coordinate with her sister, Princess Eugenie.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are skilled at presenting a united front while letting their personal style shine through. Take their recent garden party dresses as an example, where they channeled fresh spring flowers in their own ways: Beatrice in bright pink and Eugenie in soft cream.
Beatrice, Zara, and Eugenie may be the only members of their generation royal watchers see for a few more appearances. Princess Kate was feeling well enough amid her cancer treatments to stand by King Charles III's side at Trooping the Colour on Saturday, June 15, but GB News reports that Kate Middleton will not be present at this week's running of the Royal Ascot. She last attended the event in 2023, wearing a resplendent red Alexander McQueen dress. Here's hoping the entire family can stand together—and dress together—next year.
