Zara's flying start at Ascot

Rebel: Zara in the Gharani Strok dress

Royal rebel Zara Phillips shone at Royal Ascot today in an offtheshoulder dress split to the thigh which flouted centuries old tradition.

Princess Anne's daughter, renowned for her independent streak, arrived at the car park opposite the Royal Enclosure in her daring outfit at the opening day of the races.

Wearing wraparound sunglasses, the 22-year-old sipped champagne and chatted with friends and jockey boyfriend Richard Johnson at a brief picnic in the royal car park.

Although she had initially arrived in casual dress, she slipped into the ladies' lavatories and emerged five minutes later transformed.

She had chosen stylist Ceril Campbell to make her image more "funky". The result was a tightfitting one-shoulder dress with a split at the side teamed with high strappy heels. A spokesman for Miss Campbell, who charges £50 for her consultations, said: "Zara likes young and funky and this outfit certainly achieves that."

Royal Ascot protocol says all ladies entering the royal enclosure should wear "formal wear" - covering the shoulders, skirt length below the knee and covering the crown of the head with a hat - meaning Zara would have required a rapid restyling to avoid breaching these guidelines in this outfit.

The dress, a long black column with a striking red leaf print, is quite an uncommon choice for a day at Ascot. This season, most women have opted for pretty pastels. More uncommon still is that the dress is split to the thigh - a far raunchier style than the sort favoured by most guests.


Vaguely oriental in style, it is the work of Gharani Strok, a young British design team whose work has been worn by Kylie Minogue. Her hair scraped back into a casual ponytail, Zara was carrying a hat designed by Tara O'Callaghan, her favourite milliner.

The Countess of Wessex was expected to join her husband Prince Edward, the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles at the races this afternoon. Prince William was expected to stay away.

Weathermen predicted that it would rain about the same time that the Royal Procession made its way from Windsor Castle, where the royals had lunch, to the Berkshire racecourse.

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