--- ---  # Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Had Such a Grand Old Time at the Horse Race ## Video: Meghan Markle Aced the Queen's Birthday Bash at the 2018 Trooping of the Colour [Watch (HLS stream): Meghan Markle Aced the Queen's Birthday Bash at the 2018 Trooping of the Colour](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j2YLKIC9.m3u8) (0:26)  _Published 2018-06-09. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may be newlyweds, but that wouldn’t stop them from their official royal duties at the Trooping the Colour 2018 in London._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 19, 2018 5:12 PM UTC  Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex present the trophy for the St James's Palace Stakes to winning jockey Frankie Dettori as they attend Royal Ascot Day 1 at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2018 in Ascot, United Kingdom. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex present the trophy for the St James's Palace Stakes to winning jockey Frankie Dettori as they attend Royal Ascot Day 1 at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2018 in Ascot, United Kingdom.Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 19, 2018 5:12 PM UTC Meghan and Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are continuing their [busy social calendar](http://time.com/5314889/markle-harry-wedding-guests/) this month. Their latest: attending the Royal Ascot for opening day— and presenting the winning trophy for the St. James’ Palace Stakes this afternoon, won by Italian jockey Frankie Dettori and champion horse Without Parole. Dettori was jubilant in his triumph, kissing Meghan Markle’s hand and hoisting the trophy for photos.  Meghan, Duchess of Sussex receives a kiss from Jockey Frankie Dettori as she and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex present him with the trophy for winning the St James's Palace Stakes on Without Parole during Royal Ascot Day 1. Chris Jackson—Getty Images In fact, Dettori was in excellent spirits before even reaching the trophy stage, literally jumping out of the stirrups following his win and defying gravity in the process. > [](https://twitter.com/Ascot/status/1009113454173741057) But the royals also seemed to have a grand old time at the races, with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry joined by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and many more members of the royal family. Royal Ascot is a tradition going back centuries — and has its roots with the royal family. It was apparently Queen Anne who first decided that the grounds on which the course is now set were perfect for a horse race, [around 1711](https://people.com/royals/royal-ascot-2018-what-to-know/). It is now tradition for the royal family to proceed in carriages before the start of the races, which this year kicked off June 19 and concludes June 23. The other big part of Royal Ascot is the [strict dress code](https://www.ascot.co.uk/what-to-wear/royal-ascot-style-guide): elaborate hats [are a must](https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/19/royal-ascot-dress-code-weather-forecast-race-times-ladies-day-7642594/) (at least 4 inches must be covered for the ladies, while men must don top hats) as is “morning dress” for the men and “formal daywear” for the ladies. So perhaps it’s fitting that Markle’s most eye-catching topper was on display for this day. > [](https://twitter.com/Ascot/status/1009063975902904320) > [](https://twitter.com/markacuthbert/status/1009074243601096705) > [](https://twitter.com/SPerryPeoplemag/status/1009064743942926336) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Off to the Races Today ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Had Such a Grand Old Time at the Horse Race","datePublished":"2018-06-19T17:12:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:54.257Z","description":"They bestowed a prize on one of the Royal Ascot winners","url":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/","keywords":["Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt448d75aeda8e5ed8/698933627cdbac0858d5d2ee/harry-meghan-royal-ascot-prize.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt448d75aeda8e5ed8/698933627cdbac0858d5d2ee/harry-meghan-royal-ascot-prize.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Royal Ascot 2018 - Day 1","caption":"Royal Ascot 2018 - Day 1","creditText":"Samir Hussein—Samir Hussein/WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/","name":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Had Such a Grand Old Time at the Horse Race"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Meghan Markle Aced the Queen's Birthday Bash at the 2018 Trooping of the Colour","description":"Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may be newlyweds, but that wouldn’t stop them from their official royal duties at the Trooping the Colour 2018 in London.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/j2YLKIC9/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-06-09T13:58:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j2YLKIC9.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/","duration":"PT26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5315903/meghan-markle-royal-ascot/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```