Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh hosted their third and final Buckingham Palace garden party of 2013 (they will host one more later this summer at Holyrood House in Scotland). The Queen wore a mint green hat of straw woven in a lattice pattern with a tall, flat chimney crown and small cartwheel brim. It was trimmed in a braid of pink, cream and mint green straw with frayed ends. .
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I think the frayed ends on the braided trim clutter up this hat and make it rather messy but the Queen, with her broad smile, doesn’t seem to mind.
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Prince Philip looked very handsome in a grey wool top hat. Buckingham Palace released a statement after the party that he will be having abdominal surgery tomorrow and is expected to remain in hospital for two weeks. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke of Kent accompanied the Queen and Prince Philip today. Sophie repeated a Rachel Trevor Morgan designed black saucer hat covered in concentric circles of tiny black ruffles which she has previously worn in November 2008 and February 2009. It’s an intricate hat that looks great with Sophie’s longer hair pulled into a chignon… that is, if we can take our eyes of Benedict Cumberbatch long enough to admire it.
The Earl of Wessex and Duke of Kent both wore traditional top hats. There’s something wonderful in a man in morning dress with a top hat, isn’t there?
Royal Hats 
I prefer her luxembourg hat with this dress.
Sophie’s 🙂
Agreed.That hat was off the charts amazing.
I also loved the other black hat! I wonder if it might be a difficult hat to wear when greeting a large number of people? This one is quite unique and looks beautiful on her as well.
That hat she wore in Luxcembourg was right amazing but this one is fantastic too. Sophie is another royal who is looking her best these days.
MrFitzroy feels this is one of the most unfortunate hats in HM current rotation. The shape is not awful, but that braided trim is ungainly, and the frazzled tips (while perhaps meant to show Ms, Kelly trying too hard to be avante garde and deconstructivist) just ends up looking messy and bad. It appears on casual view that the hat must have been damaged during cleaning, or that perhaps the trim was made from frayed wire….either way, not a good look for the Queen.
Thank you beachgal for the information on Duke of Edinburgh, had not heard that unfortunate news.
Fine sir, I concur on all points. The braided trim on this hat makes it unsightly, frantic and unelegant. One can only hope for the quick retirement of Ms. Kelly. This hat receives a paltry 2/10. I must wait for adequate photographic evidence of the Countess’ hat before judgement is made. I do, however, find great delight in the subtle equestrian motif of her frock.
I only have one point of disagreement with you to bear. That is our most thorough host HatQueen mentioned the plight of the Duke of Edinburgh before any readers here. In addition to the best coverage of royal hats anywhere in the real or virtual worlds, we can also rely on this most excellent forum for our royal news.
Thank you for your kind words and compliments. To clarify- this is not a royal news blog! I intend to keep my focus only on royal hats (and whatever wild and wonderful things the royals wear on their heads during daytime hours).
This hat is quite a memorable one on the Queen, I certainly recall seeing it before, probably because of the fraying net ribbons. I actually like the fraying, it adds a touch of quirkiness, but I can’t say the hat is a huge favourite. I really love Sophie’s hat and outfit, perfect for a garden party, just a really partyish silhouette. Top hats complete a look that is super flattering to most men!
I like this hat except for the frayed ends. If the braid had been nicely finished with a bow loop, it would have been a beautiful hat. Her Majesty looks beautiful in mint green.
The braid is a bit busy but I think it’s the use of the mauve color which is a tad too deep in hue making it look that way. Perfect hat for a day which has her in bright sun since the brim really helps – & the straw adds to the help in keeping it light for a garden party.
Wishing Prince Philip well – news today said long hospital stay with exploratory surgery – rare today to do exploratory surg..makes me think they know what it is but not wanting to release it to the news.