Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima continued their state visit to Singapore today with appearances at the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Singapore City Gallery. To my great delight, Beatrix wore the fraternal twin to the periwinkle hat she wore yesterday. I am still besotted with this colour on her and think that the striped bands in different shades of lilac are a striking detail.
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Máxima repeated the suit and red turban designed by Fabienne Delvigne that she wore to the christening of Princess Estelle of Sweden in May last year. Red is a great colour on her although I’m not a fan of the turban (it seems really aging to me).
In the afternoon, the royal trio visited the Hollandse School in Singapore. While Máxima stayed in her red suit, Beatrix changed into the FOURTH black hat of this tour (which is only 4 days long!). This one was in her characteristic flat-top shape but seemed to have a little sparkle. Even with the sparkle, it fell a little flat for me.
Queen Beatrix made one more change into this brown straw hat and matching floral dress. The hat is just OK for me- the ombre effect of different shades of brown is lovely but I’m not sure that brown is the best colour for this queen.t was a slight letdown after a string or gorgeous hats on this trip.
My overall verdict of this trip? It was a millinery success. Maxima showed how to dazzle in a series of dramatically shaped natural straw hats, and threw two turbans for good measure. Queen Beatrix was a little more hit and miss, but the hits were so great that the misses are easily forgotten. This short tour was high on hat fashion and showed again that when it comes to dressing up, the Dutch Royals are hard to beat.
Photo from Getty as indicated; Patrick van Katwijk via Corbis
Royal Hats 
I don’t really like either of these hats but in a weird way, they kind of look nice together.