Queen Elizabeth’s Official Birthday Celebration, Trooping the Colour was held today in London. This display of military pomp and pageantry originates from traditional preparations for battle when colours (military honours and promotions) were carried or “trooped” down the rank so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers. Today, more than 1,000 soldiers took part in this royal salute to the Queen, who wore a white diagonally brimmed hat covered in royal blue lace appliqué. This hat, designed by her dresser Angela Kelly and made by in-house milliner Stella MacLaren, coordinated with her royal blue coat and white dress, which was trimmed in the same blue lace. I think this is one of Angela Kelly’s better designs and it looked quite becoming on her. I loved how the royal blue colour stood out in the sea of red uniforms.
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The Queen’s cousin Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (who is also Colonel of the Scottish Guards), stepped in for Prince Philip (who remains in hospital following surgery) and accompanied The Queen today. Edward recently suffered a stroke and it was wonderful to see him looking so well.
A number of members of the Royal Family took part in the ceremony, directly. Joining on horseback were the Prince of Wales (Colonel of the Welsh Guards), the Princess Royal (Colonel of the Blues and Royals), and the Duke of Cambridge (Colonel of the Irish Guards). Prince Charles, Prince William and the Duke of Kent’s uniforms included the famous Canadian bearskin hats while Princess Anne’s uniform included the Home Service Helmet with its distinct red plume.
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The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge both repeated hats from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee last year. Camilla wore the Philip Treacy designed picture hat she wore for the Jubilee Flotilla (she also wore this hat last year to Ascot and a the Battle of Britain Commemoration Service). This hat, in a sparkly oyster coloured straw with a large upturned brim, has grown on me over the past year and reminds me less and less of the rings of Saturn. Kate’s hat, designed by Jane Corbett, was unveiled at last year’s Jubilee Garden Party. There was a debate here on the blog yesterday about Kate’s percher hats and it appears she listened to all of you in making her choice of this asymmetrical, brimmed more substantial hat for today! It’s a pretty hat with intricate detail that I like on her quite well.
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Prince Harry wore his British Army Uniform which includes a light blue beret. He wears it very well, don’t you think? Prince Andrew, the Duke of York (the Queen’s second son and father to Princess Beatrice and Eugenie who appears on our blog for the first time today!) is retired from the navy (this is an army event) so opted for a morning suit with a very dapper black silk top hat.
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Princess Beatrice repeated the “Thesus” hat by Rosie Olivia that she wore on Christmas Day last year. She’s wearing it further back on her head than she did last time (she wore it more like a beret on the side of her head at Christmas) which makes me like this hat much more. I’m just not sure about those wide, wiry bow loops. Princess Eugenie continued her surprising streak of beautiful hats with another new one- the “Blue Ivory Disk” design from Sarah Cant’s spring 2013 collection. This ivory saucer, trimmed in flat blue ombre loops and curls, is interesting, flattering and very, very pretty – all the things you want a royal hat to be. Well done Eugenie!
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The Earl and Countess of Wessex were both in hats today – Prince Edward wore the uniform of the Royal Colonel of The London Scottish Regiment which includes a kilt and black and feathered cap. Sophie wore the “Lauren” hat designed by Jane Taylor, described on the designer’s website as a “tear shaped cocktail hat in straws with sinamay loops with Parisian vintage glass bead detail.” I think I prefer Sophie in larger brimmed hats that balance out her oval-shaped face but this is a fun hat that fit today’s festive mood very well. The rosy brown colour looks great on Sophie and the vintage glass beads lend a lovely bit of sparkle.
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All in all, I thought the Brits choose wonderful hats for the festivities today (for hats worn by the extended family Kents and Gloucesters, check here). For now, which hat is your favourite?
Royal Hats 
It is, I’m afraid, a cocked hat on the Princess Royal rather than a home service helmet.
Small quibble {from an Englishman}. The ceremony is not called Trooping OF the Colour, but Trooping the Colour. The ‘of’ is superflous, and incorrect. Otherwise great blog.
Thanks for the correction! Us subjects in the far-away colonies sometimes have trouble with this stuff.
i’m glad to be of assistance.
Beatrice and Eugenie both look fantastic. Love their makeup and hair with their hats.
Not a loser in the bunch today, but if I had to nitpick: I liked the blue lace on HM’s hat but not the slanted crown. I think I like Camilla’s hat, but still am nervous, waiting for collapse. Kate’s is nice if a little cutesie on the trim. The larger slanted brim after a string of cocktail hats is very successful, and I too wondered if her choice of pink was a telegraphed hint. One has to wonder just how many beige hats Sophie has, but they are all so great that I’m not complaining. I think she won the stakes today. Beatrice and Eugenie seem to be putting a bit more thought into their hats, and I like the results, especially Eugenie’s.
I agree with you about the Queen’s diagonal crown- this seems to be an Angela Kelly signature design element and while I don’t like it, it was executed SO much better than than other Kelly designs.
I agree with you about the D of C’s choice of pink. It had been well documented this was to be her last public appearance. Coincidence or is she giving us a hint?
The Queen’s hat is a very interesting one, which I like, and the blue colour of the outfit made the Queen stand out on the balcony very well – a well-thought-out detail considering that several hundred thousand people were seeing her from a great distance! I like both Catherine’s and Camilla’s hats. I think Camilla is very good at choosing larger hats which balance with her overall shape perfectly – a small hat would look insignificant on her. Sophie, on the other hand, manages to suit most hat shapes, and I really like this example. Eugenie’s is very pretty. Beatrice’s looks very strange; having looked at your link, I much prefer it worn more to the side as she did before, as it is less of a pancake impression!
Kate looked great- that hat suits her. Eugnie is my other favorite. Her hair wasn’t as neat as it should have been but her hat was great. This Sarah Cant person makes nice hats. Just more color next time please!
Fab hats all the way around today….everyone looks like they put a bit of thought into it (with slightly varying degrees of success — no names please — Camilla)
Wonderful also to see EVERYONE out on the balcony, it still seems so strange that the larger family was banned for the Golden Jubilee Balcony appearance!
Three cheers all the way around!
I agree. The hats today were all very beautiful. Everyone looked very happy, too.
Nothing short of a miracle that everyone looked good.
The royal family looks very elegant most of the time. Sometimes they wear hats that are not so good but for the most part, they look very, very good, appropriate and stylish. You do not need to be so rude.
I thouht Camilla’s hat was really nice with the light sparkle to it. She looked real good. Princess Duchess Kate also looked real nice and pretty in pink. Maybe that means she’s having a girl! LOL! . But my favorite hat was the Queen’s hat. That hat with the royal blue lace is one of her nicest hats ever. I just love it.
My absolute favourite is Camilla’s hat. Love the colour, the material and the way the hat and her hair work together. I did complain about Kate’s hat yesterday and I think I’m goint to complain this one too. It’s just too flat! And maybe too small in general. All in all I think the hat makes her face and head look kind of big. And that’s never good. Rest of the hats are ok by me but not anything special.
I think Kate’s hat is beautiful. The way the brim goes up on the side doesn’t make it flat at all. I love the twisted tails and the lace is really nice – not old lady at all. But my favorite hat is Sophie’s. That is gorgeous! Just the right amount of bow and glitz.
Another flat hat plopped on her head. Beatrice and Eugenie both look amazing today. Beatrice’s coat is so fierce.
Loved Beatrice’s coat as well. I suppose though if I had to plonk on hat my own head ,Iwould go with Catherine’s. the bows are a bit fiddly, but it’s all in your attitude. Not a great fan iof Camilla, but I adore the pic of her laughing with Catherine.