Ascot, UK: It might be a tad warm, but blue skies and brilliant sunshine are the perfect accompaniment to a day at Royal Ascot.
Photographers were out in force, praying for an unexpected moment that might capture the occasion, and they gained a royal flush when the Countess of Wessex stumbled on entering a carriage, almost falling into the Duchess of Cambridge’s lap.
It was a picture perfect moment for the press, latched onto by broadsheet and tabloid alike, and guiding the Royal Meeting onto numerous news pages.
The Times turned to Shakespeare to headline the moment with, ‘Merry wives of Windsor put on an Ascot comedy’ while the Daily Mail chose ‘Kate to the rescue as Sophie’s a faller at Royal Ascot’. The Daily Telegraph opted for, ‘They’re off! Sophie’s stumble starts Royal Ascot giggles’, while the Daily Mirror gives a pithy, ‘And they’re off ... balance’.
Taking the view that one good shot is worth two uses, the Daily Mail also places another picture from the sequence on pages 10 and 11, alongside several more of female racegoers in trouser suits, which it says have been given approval for the first time this year. ‘Catch me Kate’ is the Daily Star’s take, while The Sun offers a strapline of ‘Kate and Sophie in Ascot tumble’ followed by the headline ‘Touchess of Cambridge’. The Daily Express headline was, ‘Kate to the rescue as Sophie is a faller at Royal Ascot’.
The Duchess of Cambridge is always a draw for photographers, and single shots of her make the front of The Sun and Daily Star, but the Financial Times opted to reproduce a general shot of racegoers on page 2. The headline ‘Hot tip’ followed by ‘Racegoers wilt at Royal Ascot’
