MARBELLA CLUB

Simon Cowell’s ex-girlfriend Jackie St Clair, who is a regular at the five-day meeting, wore an elegant grey dress and contrasted this with a larger-than-life bright yellow hat – perfect for a sunny summer’s day.

Danielle and Gary Lineker were also in attendance and did their best to take the crown as the new Posh and Becks with Danielle posing in a nude Victoria Beckham design – she even had the pouting pose on the go.

Danielle’s outfit was given the edge with an on-trend floppy hat and Gary scrubbed up well in his top hat and tails.

Holly Valance added a little sophistication to the day with a black knee-length dress and went against the grain of oversized hats by opting for a small, folded tilt hat.

There were also those in attendances who decided to take their hat off to mark the venues 300 year anniversary.

UK Natural History presenter Anneka Tanaka-Svenska stood out from the crowd with a two foot headpiece of blonde hair with pink and green roses. The hat was designed by Louis Mariette and inspired by the Queen Anne period.

Hatmaker and designer David Shilling also dressed for the occasion, wearing a black top hat decorated with two cocktail glasses, some red white and blue balloons and some bank notes and candles to spell out the phrase Happy Birthday.

Racegoers applauded members of the Royal family - the Queen, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and princess Beatrice and Eugenie - as they entered the parade ground in a traditional horse drawn royal carriage procession.

The Queen dressed in pale green and wore an Angela Kelly hat which was decorated with a pale pink, blue and nude weaved bow.

There was also a sense of anticipation as Princess Beatrice arrived, following her controversial Philip Treacy hat at Will and Kate’s royal wedding.

However, this time the 22-year-old opted for a more traditional design - a fawn coloured wide brimmed hat accompanied with an elegant nude and black outfit.

This safe choice left others the opportunity for their moment in the hat spotlight …and boy were there plenty of people ready to take on the role!