Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, hosted the first summer garden party of the 2013 season at Buckingham Palace today. The Queen wore a soft pink straw hat with a tall crown and small mushroom brim that she first wore on a visit to Hereford as part of her Jubilee tour last year . There was a large band of pink tweed, the same fabric as her coat, wrapped around the crown that, from a distance, made the crown look diagonally shaped. The hat brim and the coat were trimmed in wide pink silk piping. While the designer of this hat has not been confirmed, it is widely agreed to be the work of Angela Kelly.
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Prince Philip wore a very dashing dove grey top hat. With his grey waistcoat and royal blue tie, I thought he looked quite handsome.
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge also attended. Camilla wore a dove grey picture hat with massive feather plume designed by Philip Treacy. While this is the first time we’ve seen this hat here on the blog, Camilla first debuted it in June 2006 and (if I’m counting correctly), wore it for the tenth time today (here are the other eight: June 2012; September 2011; May 2011; July 2009; July 2009; May 2009; July 2008; and July 2006). It’s a LOT of hat that looks messy with every little gust of wind but Camilla clearly likes it. She wore it with a new coat today- by far the best outfit she’s worn with this hat. In the the second photo (without the hat waving around like a live creature) I think she looks beautiful. (Prince Charles even got in on the hat action by carrying a black silk top hat. Very dapper, indeed).
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Kate wore the same cream Jane Corbett hat she wore for the Order of the Garter Service in June 2011 at St. George’s Chapel. This hat is a little too fussy for me and while I like the side profile, I don’t like this hat head-on (it’s too far down on Kate’s forehead). Paired with Kate’s sunshine yellow Emilia Wickstead coat, I suppose the whole outfit came together. What do you think of this hat?
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Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
What a wonderful spring color for Kate’s coat! Her hat is whimsical — perfect for a garden party. Kate does a fantastic job choosing ladylike styles and textures, keeping them young and trendy with the short but very appropriate skirt lengths.
whimsical – good word for this hat. Not a good hat for a churchy type event but good for a garden party.
The hats today were all beautiful. My favorite is Camilla.
I liked Kates the best. It was very cute on her with her hair tied back and the bright yellow coat.
Kate’s hat was so fantastic. Amazing!
Camilla blew everyone away yesterday. That coat and THAT HAT?!!!! Quadruple gorgeous all the way around. Kate’s hat was superb but the yellow coat fell short. The Queen looked lovely but her hat was not her best one.
Camilla’s hat looks like a muppet. Sorry but that’s what it looks like to me. Kate’s hat is OK and the queen’s was kinda boring. If you compare the British royal hats today with the Danish royal family last weekend or the Swedish royal family last Sunday, the Brits are the least stylish. The Danish and Swedish princesses were way more stylish this week.
pink bow 🙂
The bow is very nice on the side of the hat. I thought this hat was pointed on top but now I see it’s round with that fabric band around it that is pointed on one side. I think it would be more flattering if the fabric band didn’t go so high on the one side.
I think Camilla looks lovely and Charles handsome. I like Catherine’s coat, albeit a bit too short. Does she wear her clothes that short because she is tall and that is the length off the rack? A bit inappropriate, I think. I sort of like the hat, but I find the placement odd. I actually think when ladies wear their hats on their forehead they look clown-ish. I am a fan of large brimmed hats like Camilla’s. I love the hats Princess Diana used to wear; lots of large brims.
Camilla looks nice but that hat is too furry for my taste. I just can’t believe it doesn’t bother her whiping around in the wind. Duchess Kate’s hat is just beautiful with the bows. I just love it. It’s just so sad that she looks trashy with these dresses that are too too short. The best today is the Queen. That hat and how it matches her coat is so pretty. I’m glad no one else wore pink so she could shine by herself.
I agree. Her coat is exquisite but the hat is rediculous.
I like Catherine’s hat a lot. As for the placement, it is certainly her preference, because she has worn many of her hats that way. I don’t agree with LouisaMay that she should wear the hat ‘on the side of her head,’ although I would agree it does seem a bit low on her brow. As for her outfit, I too like the yellow. It appears to be the same style in a different fabric as the light green coat she wore earlier this Spring. I don’t know why she insists on wearing most of her outfits several inches above her knee. I haven’t seen any designers showing fashions that short or other European royals of similar age wearing theirs that way. William’s preference, maybe? It would look nicer if there was a (solid yellow perhaps) skirt under the coat, extending to the top of her knee.
When she wears a coat with a dress, she wears this several inches above the knee. When she wears a dress alone, she usually wears it just above the knee. I think it’s because the coat adds more weight and protects her from the dress flying up.
I also LOVE this hat. I’m not a fan of the coat but that hat is wonderful. Where she wears it is just perfect.
Last time Kate wore this hat with was with that sublime Alexander McQueen white coat. That was too much white but this coat is awful. Love that hat and hope she finds a perfect coat for it soon.
I agree on the length of Catherine’s coat.
I like Kate’s hat a lot. This time she wore her hair up with it and I liked it much better than the fist time she wore it.
I think the hat is a delight, it’s sort of retro, turn of the 19th century confection that begs for the accompanying intricate up do.
Well, maybe not exactly on the side of her head, but definitely not on the top as she wears it (and many others). Somewhere inbetween? 😉
I vote for the solid yellow skirt! It would complement very well both hat and coat.
Just seen some photos of Princess Victoria at a formal engagement with a very short skirt indeed! I think Catherine’s skirts have definitely got shorter during her pregnancy, so perhaps it’s her way of compensating for not being able to have her usual sleek silhouette!
PS I haven’t posted before, but I really like hats, and was delighted to be pointed in the direction of your blog a short time ago. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much! I look forward to reading more of your comments and welcome here!
Sunny side up! Love the Duch in yellow and her hat is a dream. Camilla also looks just great.
Kate looks super cute today! I love her hat with all the curled bow ribbons and it looks so nice with her hair half up around the back.
Duchess Catherine’s hats are usually conservative and boring. This hat is magnificent! The shape is very unique and it looks very good on her. I
It’s impressive how you can track back a hat’s life!
Catherine’s whole ensemble is OK (I love yellow!) but she should wear her hat on the side of her head.
I’m not a huge fan of the coat itself, she might as well be naked under it we wouldn’t know.
Thanks, LouisaMay! I do my best. I’m intrigued by the individual lives of hats. I also wasn’t a great fan of this yellow coat. Something about the cut (or the too short length?) is off for me. The colour is cute with the cream hat.
I don’t like Kate’s outfit eather. The coat needs something but I don’t know what. Maybe more length or some visible clothes underneath. The hat is ok, but once again not in a very good position or angle. But I have to say I quite like Camilla’s outfit, the coat is beautiful and the hat makes a nice combo.
I think if the coat hat some kind of collar, that would have helped a lot. It’s also too short. This isn’t my favourite hat but I do like the color with this coat (a yellow hat would have been too much yellow). Boy oh boy is Camilla looking fantastic these days! She has come into her own and it’s just wonderful to see that.
I don’t think this hat would look good on the side of her head because the bow parts would stick out in the wrong direction. I think Kate is wearing it the right way. I really love this hat but I wish she wore it with a different color coat.