Just over a week after their Cotswolds wedding, Peter Phillips and his new wife Harriet Sperling – now listed under her married surname Phillips – took their place in the traditional carriage procession at Royal Ascot on Tuesday, marking her first official event as a member of the Royal Family.
The newlyweds followed in the second carriage behind King Charles and Queen Camilla, who led the royal party along Ascot's famous Straight Mile. Harriet, wearing baby blue, sat alongside her new mother-in-law, Princess Anne, as racegoers snapped photos. The couple were later seen beaming at each other while sipping champagne in the Royal Box.
“Newlywed Harriet Phillips joined Princess Anne in the carriage procession at Royal Ascot, her first royal event since marrying Peter Phillips.”
The King and Queen, in the first carriage with the Duke and Duchess of Wellington, used the occasion to champion the racecourse's sustainability drive. In the foreword to the official race-day programme, they described the meet as “thrilling” and noted “how hard it is to win races at Royal Ascot”. They revealed that 1,200 solar panels had been installed on the grandstand's roof since last June – “another important step in the racecourse’s sustainability journey”.
Charles, who has five thoroughbreds entered this week, will be hoping to improve on his sole Ascot winner as monarch, which came in 2023. His horse Reaching High, ridden by jockey Ryan Moore and trained by Willie Mullins, is the 15/8 favourite in Tuesday's Ascot Stakes after finishing ninth in the same race last year.
Also present on the first day was the King's niece Zara Tindall, wearing a lilac dress and matching boating hat. She was photographed with her husband, former England rugby player Mike Tindall, and later dropped into a deep curtsey before greeting her uncle with a kiss on the cheek in the parade ring.
Conspicuous by their absence were Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose presence at the meeting – which runs until Saturday – remains uncertain amid the scandal enveloping their father and a separate rent row. Prince Edward was also absent, occupied with charitable duties.
Some 300,000 fans are expected over the five days, with a record prize pool of £10,645,000. Ladies Day falls on Thursday. The historic carriage procession, which has signalled the start of each day's racing since 1825, will continue throughout the week.