Princess Anne, Camilla Parker Bowles, Zara Tindall and the Countess of Wessex step out for day one of Royal Ascot 2021

June 15, 2021 - 12:32 BST hellomagazine.com

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Royal Ascot is back! Well, in truth, it never went away, but was held behind closed doors last year, due to COVID-19. This year, the races are open to the public, and the royals have returned to one of their favourite events of the year!

Day one kicked off with appearances from Princess Anne, Zara and Mike Tindall, Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles and the Countess of Wessex.

The races run June 15-19 this year.

Scroll through the gallery – or click through, if you're on desktop – to see the best photos from day one of Royal Ascot!

Photo: © Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images

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Zara and Mike Tindall stepped out for one of their first joint appearances since Zara gave birth to baby Lucas earlier this year.

Photo: © Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

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Zara looked lovely in a polka-dot dress by ME+EM, which is having a moment. The brand has been worn by royals including Duchess Kate and the Countess of Wessex over the last few weeks at in-person engagements. She paired it with a hat with floral detailing.

Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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Sophie looked gorgeous in a peach maxi dress by ARoss Girl with poet sleeves and an elasticated waist – with a self-tie belt – that fell into a floaty, maxi hem. She wore matching heels and a circular disc hat with flowers.

Photo: © Karwai Tang/WireImage

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Princess Anne looked spectacular in a blue linen shift dress and matching floral blazer. She accessorized with a scarf over her shoulder. .

Photo: © Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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Camilla looked gorgeous in a blue-and-white striped dress by Bruce Oldfield, which she paired with a matching face mask and sky blue hat by Philip Treacy. Charles looked dapper in a grey suit and light purple tie.

Photo: © Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images

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Charles and Camilla took in the action from a private box.

Photo: © Samir Hussein/WireImage

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The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall also took in the action in the stands.

When was the last time we saw a crowd of people like this?

Photo: © Samir Hussein/WireImage

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Zara was *very* into the races. The royal, who is a former Olympian, having competed in equestrian events in 2012 in London, was last seen at a racing event in March 2020 at the Cheltenham Festival. She also competed at the Burnham Market International Horse Trials that September.

Zara's friend Dolly Meade, who helped deliver baby Lucas, was with her in the stands.