Pink and Beige

Queen Elizabeth and The Countess of Wessex, along with their husbands, attended a Sunday morning service at St. Mary Magdalene Church, near Sandringham where the Royal Family spends Christmas Holidays. We’ve seen the Queen’s hat before (in March 2011 in Warwickshire and at the start of Jubilee celebrations in March 2012 in Leicester with Kate) – it’s her standard hat shape in a signature bright colour. After a year of fantastic hat appearances, however, Sophie’s boring beige number (which looks like a Philip Treacy design and was first worn over 10 years ago at the Dutch Royal Wedding) leaves me quite flat.

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Archducal Wedding in Nancy

A wedding A “minor” royal wedding was celebrated today in Nancy, France when Archduke Christophe of Austria married Adelaide Drapé-Frisch. Christophe is the son of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (née Princess of Luxembourg) – this makes him the grandson of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and the nephew of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. As such, the Luxembourg royals were out again to celebrate a royal wedding!

Let’s start with the bride- Adelaide wore an antique lace Habsburg veil- a family piece rumoured to have been worn by Empress Eugénie for her wedding to Napoleon III in 1853 (and also previously worn by her sisters-in-law Marie-Christine and Kathleen on their wedding days). Adelaide anchored the veil with the Luxembourg Royal Family’s Small Diamond Floral Tiara. I thought the lace veil and floral tiara were a perfect compliment to her satin dress.

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Mother of the groom, Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (née Princess of Luxembourg), wore a dark brown brimless fur hat. I know this is a Christmas wedding but I somehow don’t see the connection between the dark fur hat and her beautiful powder blue suit. Powder = snow = need for a fur hat?! Somehow, this doesn’t work for me.

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Mother of the bride, Odile Drapé-Frisch, looks fantastic, even with the random explosion of orange feathers. I actually admire a mother-of-the-bride who can pull of orange because I suspect very, very few women can.

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Sister of the bride, Eleanor Drapé-Frisch, wore a large blue straw molded saucer hat with upswept ‘slice’ brim. While it’s lovely to see colour, I’m not sure this technicolour blue is the best look for her. I think I might have liked it a lot better if her hair was back in a chignon.

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Sister of the groom, Countess Marie-Christine de Limburg-Stirum, wore a beige fur hat with wide, cuffed bumper brim.

Sister-in-law of the groom, Archduchess Kathleen of Austria, wore a prim chocolate fur pillbox. I suppose if you’re going to wear a fur hat, you might as well choose a big one. I know there is a lot going on here- bouncy hair, weird angled hat- but somehow, I kind of like it.

Dec 29, 2012 | Royal Hats

Aunt of the groom, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, brought some sparkle to this celebration with a large Fabienne Delvigne beaded headpiece she has worn before. I think this was the right choice for this outfit- any larger hat would have competed too much with the fur collar on her brocade jacket.

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Cousin-in-law of the groom, Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg, wore a dark green button base cocktail hat trimmed with grey and caramel twisted bows. I really, really, REALLY want to like this hat but the way she has placed it makes it look like a one-sided green earmuff. Although, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure better placement would help on this piece.

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Cousin of the groom, Princess Alexandra, wore a grey felt cloche. Top marks to Alexandra for bringing a quintessentially French hat shape to this French wedding. Très chic!

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Cousin-in-law of the groom Princess Tessy wore a chocolate felt pork pie/cloche hybrid hat. The hourglass shape is interesting but the velvet bow and bland colour leave me on the fence about this hat- I can’t decide if this is boring or twee. There’s also something funny going on with her hair and the perch of the hat.

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Future cousin-in-law of the groom, Claire Lademacher (soon to be Princess Claire), wore a black felt saucer trimmed with feathers and a large, flat bow.. Call me crazy but I think this combination of hat, chignon, biker coat and faux fur wrap is fabulous.

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Aunt of the groom, Princess Sibilla, oozed elegance in a classically shaped hat with black felt crown and wide red felt brim. Trimmed with red felt zigzag picks and black quills, the hat is appropriately Christmassy without being too obvious.

Photos from LUXPRESS/Jean-Claude ErnstBest Image; Abacca

British Royals on Christmas Day

The Ladies of British Royal Family had new (and not so new) hats on display this morning as the entire family attended church close to Sandringham. The Queen radiant in this dark turquoise hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan with velvet flower trim. I love the upturned brim and the amazing shade of blue. So perfect.

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Camilla was resplendent in a repeated royal purple Philip Treacy. It’s a little feathery but she can certainly carry it well.
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Sophie went Nordic- as in Reindeer Antlers. This is the “Ofelia” hat by Jane Taylor. 

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Princess Anne’s off-the-face fur hat was a throwback to another era (60s? 70s?) and totally overshadowed by the beautiful burgundy Nerida Fraiman worn by Autumn Phillips.

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Zara Philips wore a beige 1940s inspired Karen Henriksen design.  I’m  not usually a fan of beige hats but this shape and style seems to suit her. I’m just not so sure about those bejewelled chopsticks.

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Princess Eugenie wore a plain black wool beret of unknown design. While it does seem a little unusually boring on this York Princess, I think she looks great.

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And last, but certainly not least, Princess Beatrice wore an interesting (in a good way, I think) “Thesus” hat by Rosie Olivia in black velour felt to compliment her amazing camel Dolce and Gabbana coat.

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Japanese Imperial Family Celebrates Emporer Akihito’s Birthday

The Imperial Family made a balcony appearance today at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to greet the large crowd gathered to celebrate Emperor Akihito’s 79th birthday.  Crown Princess Masako and Princess Kiko stuck to their traditional small hats and wore a duo of pillboxes in royal blue and butter yellow to match their frocks.

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British Royals Attend Church at Sandringham

While the Queen was in bed with a cold, other members of the British Royal Family attended Sunday service at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church close to the Sandringham estate. The Countess of Wessex repeated the purple bejewelled Jane Taylor cocktail hat she wore last month on her visit to Aldershot. Princess Beatrice’s mustard yellow hat is trimmed with a blue feather and was designed by Rachel Black. She wore it again for Easter 2013 (see better photos of this hat here). Princesses Eugenie wore black felt unembellished beret.

 

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