Friday, June 20, 2008

In the Royal Enclosure

It never quite lives up Cecil Beaton, but Royal Ascot nonetheless always looks like a treat. Ladies Day is of course the highlight, when the Great and Good and those who would be taken for one or the other descend for a day of Champagne, lobster, hats, and, oh, yes - a spot of racing.

HM, of course, was perfect as always, although there were those who were disappointed that she didn't follow the trend (and when ever has she?) for light feathery creations called fascinators:


The Princess Royal, however, did; I'm not sure the effect was wholly successful. She appears to be washing her hair with Brillo these days, for one thing. Her niece, the Princess Beatrice, opted for a Philip Treacy, which we like, but is constitutionally incapable of dressing her hair, which we don't:

I'm awfully fond of antediluvian UK television fixture Bruce Forsyth, the kind of comic I imagine was a great hit on the Blackpool Pier in about 1948. I now adore him even more, having learned from this year's Ascot coverage that he has an amazonian Trophy Wife who is an ex Miss World (1975) and - are you sitting down? - is named Wilnelia.

Wilnelia! And she's mine! All mine!

But the highlight of everything I've seen is the following, which is not for the faint of heart: Sheikh Mohamed of Dubai, surrounded by his posse.

I just know that his wife (well, one of them), Princess Haya of Jordan, wonders sometimes what she's gotten herself into:

Her expression says it all: "But I want to be
over
there, with that real Royal Family!"

Don't they look comfortable and at home?

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