No need to hide, ladies — it’s your day at the races! Let’s survey the jewels (and, of course, the hats) worn by the Windsors at Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot — enjoy!

Lovely in a saturated turquoise color, HM brought out a rather intriguing brooch for Ladies’ Day: it’s a diamond and aquamarine brooch from the collection of the late Queen Mother. You’ll remember during our discussion of the D-Day commemoration that the Queen Mother felt that dressing up when she visited war-ravaged Britain showed that she valued and respected the people she met. This is the very brooch she wore on one of her visits to the bombed sections of the East End during the Blitz.

Sophie’s been keeping up her neutral color palette at this year’s Ascot, which should be boring me, but I can’t help but think it’s just really chic instead. The brooch is silver-toned, and it features stylized black strawberries. (PS: Ladies’ Day was Sophie’s fifteenth wedding anniversary — check out our Royal Jewel Rewind post here!)

She may be wearing a hot pink bucket on her head, but as Anne’s outfit does not appear to be two decades old, I’ll give it a pass. The pearl choker is, I believe, the same one she wore fifteen years ago at Prince Edward’s wedding. I’m really intrigued by the brooch — I’ve seen speculation that this is a ruby piece that might have been a gift from a Middle Eastern monarch.

The elder Yorkie, Princess Bea, wore an orange peel on top of her head for the day. Unfortunately, there’s no discernible jewelry to be seen here, not even an earring. And I think this needs earrings, too.

Eugenie appears to have just said no to jewelry, too. That’s really unfortunate, because this sad hat and straitjacket could really have used an embellishment or two.

This time, instead of a Sunflowers tribute, Princess Haya went for My Fair Lady. MUCH better, and the choice of small sparkly studs that don’t draw attention away from that remarkably dramatic hat was a good one.

Sophie’s excited, and so am I! Let’s get right to the jewelry and hats of the second day of the races at Royal Ascot, shall we?

New day, new(ish) brooch, same queen. HM clearly loves the new floral brooch that she debuted during the French state visit earlier this month, because she’s repeating it again here. I love the brooch — not such a fan of the multicolored floral embellishment on the hat. This would be so much more elegant if the flowers were the same minty-sage color as the rest of the chapeau.

Camilla brought out her pearl choker with the large Edwardian pink topaz clasp again, plus a pair of interesting earrings that I’d really like a better look at. As for the outfit — would love to see something brighter for Ascot. The ivory is elegant but zzzzzzzzz.

Sophie Wessex’s ensemble is also neutral, yes, but I can’t help loving it, including the hat. But what I love even more here are the jewels: diamond earrings and a pair of Art Deco diamond clips given to her as a wedding present by the Queen Mother. Gorgeous!

In the immortal words of Donny Hathaway, and then there’s Anne. I kid you  not, this entire outfit, hat and all, was worn by Anne in the 1980s. She does this all the time, and yeah, thrift and all, but COME ON. Anyway. The earrings are perfectly lovely, the pearl necklace is on the small side but okay, and the brooch — well, the brooch is obscured by the strap of Anne’s purse, which has also got to be from the ’80s, because I remember putting that exact knot in the strap of the purse I took to Sunday School in 1988. I should move on, this makes me grumpy.

Oh, so much better. The Duchess of Gloucester has worn this entire outfit, hat and all, so many times. I can’t even see her jewelry in the photo, but I already feel revived.

Which is good, because that meant I was prepared for the moment when the Ghost of Coco Chanel inhabited the body of Princess Michael of Kent. (Except I don’t think Coco would have put that feather anywhere near that hat. That’s pure Zsa-Zsa Kent, right there.) I’m really intrigued by those silver-toned pearls.

I still was not fully prepared, though, to see Princess Haya bring the Full Van Gogh to the races. Nice earrings and bracelet, though.

One final pair of royals-adjacent at Ascot on Day 2: the Earl and Countess Spencer, uncle and aunt of Princes William and Harry. The (newest) Lady Spencer looks absolutely lovely. Her husband looks like a little boy who is wearing his father’s too-big hat — which, knowing the frugality of the British aristocracy, may actually be the case.

It’s that time of year again, magpies — the most ridiculous, rollicking royal good time of the season, Royal Ascot! The Windsor women always let a little bit loose in the fashion department for the races. Let’s have a look at the sparkling jewels (and, of course, the marvelous millinery) that made appearances in the royal box on the first race day. And be sure to head back here in about twelve hours for more from Day 2!

The big cheese chose a perfectly proportioned blue chapeau for the first race day. She also debuted a new brooch! This one features a pair of diamond and pearl swans, made by G. Collins and Sons. (Also, apologies to HM for picking the one photo where she clearly blinked and looked like she was ready for a nap — sometimes the jewels are most photogenic in the snaps that are less-flattering to the wearer, sadly!)

Camilla recovered from the cold that plagued her during Garter Day enough to enjoy a spot o’ racing on Day 1, thankfully! She went with her pearl earrings, her pearl choker with diamond clasp, and a pair of dragonfly brooches. The brooches are from Van Cleef & Arpels, and one is set with diamonds, while the other is set with sapphires. The hat, however, appears to be dragging her sideways.

Well, hello to you, too, Lady Wessex! Not only am I a fan of your hat, which is a delightful combination of caviar and tamales, you’ve also worn an absolutely gorgeous aquamarine brooch. According to the internet’s resident Countess of Wessex expert, Anna, Sophie first wore this one in 2011 at the princely wedding in Monaco.

It’s not really Hat Christmas until the Yorkies appear, is it? We were treated to a double dose on Day 1, where Beatrice wore a rather demure hat and a GIANT gold and blue cuff bracelet.

Eugenie went light on the jewels, sticking with rings and a delicate bracelet. Unfortunately, her hat made her head look peculiarly flat, and judging by her expression here, she may have lost some £££.

Princess Anne added a seahorse brooch and pearls to her ensemble, which is rather frilly for Anne. The hat looks like a toddler’s ponytail with a birdcage glued to it. (Also, doesn’t Harry look precious/hilarious in his little top hat? Love the flower in the lapel, Hazza!)

The royal family’s resident Olympic equestrian, Zara Phillips, wore a lovely pair of sparkling earrings with her monochrome outfit, plus a forehead monster hat that may have obscured her view of the races. Her husband, Mike Tindall, accessorized with an imitation of the royal wave that would have sent him straight to the tower 500 years ago.

Birgitte Gloucester wore a lovely set of pearls and a brooch that I want to see in a clearer photograph, but her hat is verging a bit to close to beachwear territory for my comfort.

Princess Michael went with pearls, too, and a hat that I don’t think is supposed to be worn flat like that. This hat needs some jaunt, M-C.

Viscountess Linley went with pretty standard pearls, but I WANT THIS COAT. The hat, on the other hand, looks to have been sloppily embellished with a hot glue gun and a strand of the cheapest fake flowers from the clearance bin at Michaels. Ten points from Gryffindor, Serena.

Seriously, though, the coat.

And, as usual, Royal Ascot has brought us an extra bonus royal: Princess Haya! She’s the sister of the King of Jordan and a wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, and she’s wearing good earrings. I can forgive the hatsplosion because it’s a nice color, but really, isn’t this outfit fairly bellowing for a necklace?