The Queen backed to wear a pink hat on day one of Royal Ascot

As Royal Ascot begins tomorrow, leading bookmaker Coral has been forced to slash the odds on the colour of the Queen’s hat following a rush of bets on pink this morning. The odds on Her Majesty wearing a pink hat on the first day of the royal meeting have now been cut in half to 3-1 from 6-1, while the odds on a blue headpiece have drifted out to 7-2 from 3-1.

Summery yellow and purple are next best in the betting at odds of 6-1, whilst Pink, Apricot or Peach can be backed at 7-1. The firm don’t expect the monarch to wear darker colours, making black (33-1), brown (40/1), and grey/silver (40/1) outsiders.

“In recent years the Queen has worn a blue hat on the opening day of Royal Ascot, but this year the gamble suggests that she will chose a pink headpiece instead,” said Coral’s Nicola McGeady.

“All week we will be taking bets on the colour of the Queen’s hat, a market which is one of the most popular non-sport betting events we have, and with most of the bets going on pink tomorrow, we will have our fingers crossed that she chooses anything but,” added McGeady.

**Colour of Queen’s hat on Tuesday of Royal Ascot?

5-2 Pink, 7-2 Blue, 6-1 Purple, 6-1 Yellow, 7-1 Apricot or Peach, 14-1 Green, 14-1 White, 16-1 Cream or Beige, 25-1 Turquoise, 33-1 Black, 40-1 Black and White, 40-1 Brown, 40-1 Grey or Silver, 40-1 Orange, 50-1 Gold, 66-1 Red, 100-1 no headwear