The wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall two years ago was not a royal wedding but instead, an intimate family affair where the family just happened to be royal! After looking back at the bride and her immediately family earlier today, here are the marvelous hats Zara’s extended family wore to her wedding.
Zara’s aunt, The Duchess of Cornwall, wore this dramatic Philip Treacy feathered headpiece trimmed with beaded pink and green flowers. It’s a LOT of feathers and while I applaud Camilla for carrying off such a statement headpiece, I think I would have preferred one of her picture hats with her tailored coat dress. This one seems slightly over the top for this wedding.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore the infamous “potato chip hat” designed by Gina Foster. The large cream straw oval hat was trimmed with a large bow and flower behind the top brim. I thought it looked great on Kate and it remains one of the largest and most dramatic hats she has ever worn. Brilliant.
After the international backlash to the hats they wore to Prince William’s wedding three months earlier, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie attended this wedding in outfits and hats designed by the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly (a choice I can not imagine was a coincidence). Beatrice wore a stacked saucer hat in teal blue silk trimmed with the same fabric petals that decorated her skirt. The colour was beautiful on her but I thought the odd shape of this hat looked haphazard and unpolished.
Princess Eugenie wore a cream hat with a diagonal chocolate brown straw brim and large cream feathers. I liked the colour with her chestnut hair but something about this hat was off for me. I think the cream base was too boxy and I would have preferred wispier, lighter feathers.
The Countess of Wessex wore a spectacular beigey-pink asymmetrical waved straw hat with a rosette and long feathers. This hat, designed by Jane Taylor, was fun, light and lovely. I thought it was a beautiful compliment to her Bruce Oldfield dress and jacket and perfect for a summer wedding.
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Lady Sarah Chatto was her characteristically elegant self in this black straw hat with domed crown and mushroom brim designed by Stephen Jones. I am always a sucker for the classic combination of black and white and I thought Sarah looked fabulously stylish in this hat.
All in all, I think the British Royal Family looked lovely for this summer wedding in Scotland. Beyond the gorgeous millinery, everyone looked relaxed and very happy to celebrate with Zara and Mike. Which was your favourite hat at this un-royal family wedding?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Loved Kate’s hat…..and she does wear them so well
re: the saucer hat – Somewhere, there is a blue Sky satellite dish missing from a house….or perhaps it is for gathering in a wifi signal!! Yeeks – almost as odd as That hat….
Are you saying that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were forced to wear things made by the Queen’s designer?
I’m saying that I think it’s interesting that after creating a worldwide sensation with her hat at Will and Kate’s wedding in April 2011, Beatrice (and Eugenie) attended the next family wedding three months later dressed in a suit and hat designed by the Queen’s dresser/designer…. the only time they have ever worn something made by Angela Kelly. Coincidence? Somehow, I don’t think so!
Well at least they looked much more presentable and elegant than the did in those ridiculous hats they wore to Prince William’s wedding.
Kates hat looked great from the angle of the picture you chose, but it looked awful from a side view where we got the pringle in all of its glory.
Sophie was by far the best dressed and I love her hat! Its so feminine and lovely. As you said, perfect for a summer wedding!
Duchess of Cambridge’s hat is a hit. I love it. Sophie’s hat comes in at a close second to Kate’s hat. Both of these hats were real winners at this wedding.
I loved this wedding as everyone seemed very relaxed and happy. I love Camilla’s hat. I agree with a previous poster that she can get away with this type of hat. Its not to be taken seriously, it light and fun. Sarah Chatto has a style I love. She dresses to suit her petite frame and is not a slave to fashion. I wish we saw more of her at family events.
Camilla never looked better.
Camilla, Sophie and Kate all looked amazing. Kate’s hat is my favorite. I think this is one of her best hats ever.
Princess Beatrice’s hat is very well integrated with her dress and seemed to me the most striking. It could also very well be the first reversible hat that I’ve seen that can be worn upside down and still be a viable hat. Well… I’m serious – it’s an interesting design idea. Could one of the hat designers try this for Ascot next year?
The hat worn by Lady Sarah Chatto has a bit of traditional Chinese shape to it. This is something I miss here because China has many beautiful hat and gown designs that we don’t see on European Royalty.
I also thought the Countess of Wessex’ hat was the most beautiful at the event.
I don’t care for any of these hats except for the last one. They all seem to be too feathery or the shape is too much. I love the last hat the best. That is gorgeous.
Lady Sarah’s hats are always elegant and very flattering.
Ah yes…Camilla with the garden growing out of her hair! Oddly I can only think Camilla can get away with a look like this and not end up on a worst dressed list! anyone else and they surely would make that list!
Kate and Sophie also wore stunning hats…Eugeinie – well she had yet another saucer that looked like it was an art project but then that’s often her style…I just happen not to like it much at all.
I love Kate and Sophie’s hats. They are so beautiful and unique. Sophie has worn a lot of these larger hats and I wish Kate would too!
I love the flower on Kate’s hat. She looks so good!
I can’t help but wonder what data is being beamed from Princess Beatrice’s ‘saucer antenna’
I thought Kate’s hat looked lovely on her. Sophie’s hat was fun and pretty but I wish I hadn’t seem the large hairband needed to hold it on. Camilla looked like she had bugs flying around her head, thought the flowers at the base of “hat” were pretty. I don’t even know what to say about the York girls. So pretty, but even with Angela Kelly to guide them, these hats are just odd. Bea’s hair could use a bit of a combing. Sarah Chatto looks happy and comfortable in her skin and it shows in her attire. Her hat is just ok, but who cares? She is also wearing lovely jewelry which is a plus to me!