6 Things We Love About Royal Ascot

With Royal Ascot in full swing, thousands of racegoers have been descending on the festival for a week's worth of racing action. Each year the event gets bigger and better, and it certainly shows no sign of stopping. With that in mind, we dusted off our finery and snuck into the Royal Enclosure on Ladies' Day to discover exactly what makes Ascot so special…

1. The Royal Family The Queen, especially. She always looks fabulous, and takes such an interest in the sport. Officials told us she is 'very knowledgable,' and always watches the action with her Head of Racing. Plus she's there day in, day out and whatever the weather. We love her.

2. The Horses Admittedly we don't know a whole lot about racing, but there's something special about watching all those glossy manes parade around the ring. Yesterday, we spied Princess Anne deep in conversation with a racing expert, no doubt discussing the horses' form and who to back. We, however, chose our bets based on which one looked nicest or had the prettiest silks. Not the most technical approach, but we did come home with £7.40. Not bad, huh?

3. The Hats During our tour of the grounds, we spied everything from a royal baby-themed creation, to a tea set, a bird cage and something resembling an actual pigeon. Meanwhile, the lady with the largest headpiece of the day sent photographers into a frenzy, and seemed more than happy to strike a pose.

4. The Champagne It wouldn't be Royal Ascot without a glass of champagne or two. This year, Bollinger provided the bubbly, with three shiny bars inside the Royal Enclosure serving glass after glass to thirsty racegoers enjoying a glamorous day out. Yum.

5. The Stars It goes without saying than an event as fabulous as Royal Ascot attracts its fare share of celebs. We had lunch with author Jilly Cooper, while Victoria Pendleton swept past looking very chic. Other star spots included several members of the royal family, Bruce Forsyth and Claire Balding. Brilliant.

6. The Atmosphere Simply put, it's like nowhere else.

IN PICTURES: ROYAL ASCOT 2013