ROYAL ASCOT

Name: Royal Ascot
Start: 2027-06-15
End: 2027-06-19
Location: Ascot Racecourse

Third Week of June · Ascot, Berkshire · Five Days · Since 1711 · The Turf

Arranged by the Court

The Royal Procession entering the Parade Ring at Royal Ascot, Union Jack banners on the grandstand — I · The Royal Procession

Dates: 15 to 19 June 2027
WhereAscot Racecourse, Ascot
DressMorning dress in the Royal Enclosure; a lounge suit in the Queen Anne and Village
AdmissionOpen to the public
The weatherIn June the country around Ascot reaches about 21°C by day and falls to about 10°C at night, and rain falls on about one day in four.
The tableThe Court dines afterwards at The Waterside Inn, Ferry Road, Bray (waterside-inn.co.uk).
Of noteThe Royal Procession comes up the course at two each afternoon, and the first of the seven races is run at half past two.
In companyA member who means to go says so to the Secretary, and the Court seats its members together where the engagement allows.RSVP tells the Secretary that a member means to attend. Send passes the engagement’s name, its date and the address of its page to whomever the reader chooses, or, on a computer, copies the address; the Court itself sends and keeps nothing.RSVP

Royal Ascot is five days of flat racing held in the third week of June, and the fixed point of the English summer. Thirty-five races are run across the week, eight of them at the highest grade in the sport. The Gold Cup is run on the Thursday.

It is also the most closely governed social occasion in Britain. What a person may wear depends entirely on which enclosure they hold a badge for, and the badge is decided months in advance.

Horse-drawn landaus of the Royal Procession coming down the course at Royal Ascot — II · Down the Course

The History

Queen Anne rode out from Windsor Castle in 1711, found a stretch of open heath she thought would suit horses at full stretch, and ordered a racecourse. The first meeting was held that August for a purse of a hundred guineas. One of the four enclosures still carries her name.

The Royal Procession has opened each afternoon since 1825. At two o’clock sharp each day the royal party comes down the straight mile in horse-drawn landaus, and the crowd stands. Nothing about it has been modernised.

The Enclosures

There is no single dress code at Ascot. There are three, each enforced at the entrance to its own enclosure rather than at the gate to the racecourse, and a fourth enclosure that has none. A person may buy a Queen Anne badge, walk the length of the course, and be turned back at the Royal Enclosure rope.

The Royal Enclosure is the lawn between the Parade Ring and the grandstand, with a clear line of sight to the Procession. It is not sold. Admission is by application. A first application needs two sponsors who are existing members of the Royal Enclosure, not of the same address; the applicant must be eighteen or over, pays a joining fee of £200 and is approved by His Majesty’s Representative, and from 2027 members pay an annual subscription of £25. The rules are strictest here, and they are read closely at the rope.

Queen Anne is the next, and asks for a suit, a collared shirt and a tie, with morning dress permitted. The Village is newer and more relaxed. Windsor has no formal code, and asks only for smart daywear.

The code tightens as one moves from the rail toward the Parade Ring.

A racegoer in a headpiece of red roses, black lace and long red and black feathers on Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot (2014) — III · Ladies’ Day

The Dress

In the Royal Enclosure, gentlemen wear morning dress in black, grey or navy: a morning coat with tails, a waistcoat and a tie, black shoes with socks that cover the ankle, and a black or grey top hat. Cravats and bow ties are not admitted, nor a hat dressed with ribbon or feathers. Coloured waistcoats are accepted; novelty ones are not. The hat may come off inside a restaurant or a private box, or on an enclosed terrace, balcony or garden, but is worn on the lawns and in the Parade Ring.

Ladies wear a hat or headpiece with a solid base of at least four inches. A fascinator below that measurement is turned away at the rope. Dresses and skirts fall just above the knee or longer, straps are at least an inch wide, and midriffs are covered. Strapless, one-shoulder, off-the-shoulder, halter-neck, spaghetti-strap and sheer styles are not admitted. Jumpsuits that fall below the knee, and trouser suits of matching material and colour, are.

Five things are refused under every one of Ascot’s codes: trainers, denim, leggings, shorts, and fancy dress or anything carrying a slogan, a logo or a novelty pattern.

Flat racing at full stretch in front of the grandstand at Royal Ascot — IV · The Racing

What to Know

The Thursday is the Gold Cup, and the most photographed day of the week. Anyone who wants to be seen goes on the Thursday. Anyone who wants to watch the racing goes on the Tuesday.

Rain is likely and umbrellas are permitted in plain colours. A morning coat in wet weather is a lesson.

The walk from the car parks is long and the ground is grass. Heels sink.

The mistake that marks a newcomer is not the clothing. It is arriving for the first race and leaving after the last, without once walking the Parade Ring or standing for the Procession. The racing is the reason for the day, not the whole of it.

Questions

When is Royal Ascot in 2027?

Royal Ascot 2027 runs for five days, from Tuesday 15 June to Saturday 19 June 2027. The Gold Cup, the meeting’s oldest race, is run on the Thursday.

What is the dress code in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot?

Ascot publishes it in full. Gentlemen wear morning dress of black, grey or navy, with a waistcoat and necktie, a black or grey top hat, and black dress shoes with socks covering the ankle; ladies wear a hat, or a headpiece or hatinator with a base of at least 4 inches (10cm), a dress or skirt falling just above the knee or longer, and shoulder straps at least 1 inch (2.5cm) wide, and strapless, one-shoulder, off-the-shoulder, halter-neck, spaghetti-strap and sheer styles and visible midriffs are not permitted. The Court follows it.

Is there a dress code in every enclosure at Royal Ascot?

No. Each enclosure has its own: in the Queen Anne Enclosure gentlemen wear a full-length two- or three-piece suit with a collared shirt and necktie (morning dress is also permitted), and in the Village Enclosure a suit jacket or blazer with full-length trousers or chinos, a collared shirt and a necktie, bow tie or cravat; in both, ladies wear a hat, headpiece or fascinator, and trainers, denim, leggings and shorts are not permitted. The Windsor Enclosure has no official dress code, only encouragement towards smart daywear, and the Court wears a lounge suit there.

How does one get tickets to Royal Ascot?

Three of the four enclosures are sold to the public through Ascot: the Windsor Enclosure, the Village Enclosure, open Thursday to Saturday only, and the Queen Anne Enclosure, the premier public enclosure with Parade Ring viewing. As of October 2026, for 2027, they are priced from 30, 80 and 95 pounds. The Royal Enclosure is not on general sale; it is open only to its Members and their guests.

How does one get into the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot?

A new Member must be sponsored by two eligible Members, who may not live at the same address, must be 18 or over, and is subject to approval by His Majesty’s Representative. As of October 2026, for 2027, the joining fee is 200 pounds and Members pay an annual subscription of 25 pounds. A Member may bring up to two guests on each day except the Tuesday, and badges are booked from January each year.

Why is it called Royal Ascot?

Queen Anne founded racing at Ascot in 1711, when she judged the heath ideal for horses to gallop at full stretch, and the course stands on Crown land. Each of the five days begins at 2pm with the Royal Procession, in which the King, the Queen and the royal party arrive in horse-drawn landaus along the Straight Mile, as George IV first did in 1825.

Racegoers in summer dress and hats walking between enclosures at Royal Ascot — V · On the Lawns

The Court

Royal Ascot is not the Court’s own. Badges, entry and seating are sought on a member’s behalf, and the Court arranges the day around it: getting there, where to stay, and the table afterwards. A first application to the Royal Enclosure requires two sponsors who are members of it already, and this is among the reasons members ask.

How one becomes a member is set out under Admission.