Maddest hats at the frightfully British Royal Ascot races | CNN

In the British social calendar, no event quite matches the prestige, pageantry and formal dress protocols of Royal Ascot. Members of the monarchy wave from carriages, aristocrats don faintly cartoonish top hats and extravagant millinery threatens to obscure the view at every turn. There’s also horse racing. Across five days every June, some 300,000 visitors descend on Ascot Racecourse, just west of London, for the race meet, which dates back to 1711. Each day opens with King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving in a horse-drawn carriage before withdrawing to the most exclusive viewing area, the Royal Enclosure. What sounds like a zoo for the exceedingly posh is an invitation-only section with an infamously strict dress code. For centuries, spectacular hats have been woven into the social fabric of Royal Ascot. And the formal attire of the upper class continues to define the strict dress code today. Women are required to wear a headpiece in almost all the enclosures — though what exactly that looks like, depends on the class of ticket. Inside the Royal Enclosure, it’s top hats and waistcoats for the gentlemen. For the ladies, hats or a headpiece with a base of at least 10 centim