“Dressed in deepest mourning to honour the memory of a departed king, the race-goers of 1910 would likely be astonished that their sombre apparel has made such an enduring contribution to the notion of Edwardian England as an almost mythically elegant place. Black Ascot certainly was elegant, but it was enacted in a climate of unprecedented political, social and cultural ferment. With the benefit of hindsight, the obsequies that accompanied the passing of Edward VII can be viewed as an elegy for an entire way of life.”