The Swedish Royal Family attended a mass this morning in the chapel of the Royal Palace in Stockholm to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Carl Gustaf’s reign. For this important event, Queen Silvia wore a new hat- a peacock blue straw classic pillbox with a small bow at the back. Silvia has a long history of wearing pillboxes and I thought the scale and colour of this one was really lovely on her.
September 15, 1973 was not only was the day that Carl Gustaf ascended the Swedish throne of Sweden- it was also the same day that Prince Daniel was born. For this double celebration, Crown Princess Victoria wore a new white rose fascinator to compliment her amazing white Chanel dress. While I prefer a less harsh hairstyle on Victoria, her overall look today was very refined and elegant.
Princess Madeleine was also in white and topped off her black and white Valentino jacket with a new pointed black callot headpiece. This hat made me scratch my own head… I thought the classic coat and dress just didn’t work with this pointy half-hat. From the side, this hat looked like a kerchief and I’m afraid it was my least favourite of the day.
The star today was, however, this family’s youngest member. Little Princess Estelle, who joined in the balcony appearance following the church service, wore a white bow in her hair. I know this does not really constitute a hat but Estelle was simply too adorable not to include in this post.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
You can see the hats worn by extended family and royal guests at this post.
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I love a pillbox, so much so I had one covered in lily-of-the-valley holding my veil when I married. So No.1 to Queen Sylvia. I like Maddie’s outfit until we reach the clodhoppers, I really like that neat little hat. I cannot say the same for Vicki’s flower doo-dahs.
I can’t think of a queen who doesn’t look good in a pillbox and the peacock blue is perfect for Silvia. The best look today was Victoria. The Chanel dress with that headpiece was absolutely incredible. She has come into her own.
Was her headpiece Chanel as well? What a fantasy to be dressed head to toe in Chanel!
I think Madeleine’s hat would have been better with an updo. I agree with you about preferring a less severe hairstyle on Victoria, but I think it really worked with this headpiece. Sylvia looks elegant as always. And Estelle wins the show.
I liked everyone’s look today. I preferred Queen Silvia’s hat over the others. That color looks good on her and I really like her in a pillbox hat. I liked Princess Madeleine’s “hat” the least – but the rest of her outfit was beautiful.
The pillbox was nice but somehow, I wasn’t blown away by it. I was also really disappointed in Princesses Victoria and Madeleine’s hats. Their outfits were knockouts but the hats… meh.
Ah, yes, now *this* is a pillbox as I understand it! Lovely colour too. I like Victoria’s hair ornament too, but wish she (and Madeleine) hadn’t passed up the opportunity for a proper hat!
We’ll put all the confusion about pillboxes to rest with our next “Hat Types” post!
I love the Chanel, but……without the pearls in the middle and the flowers and the clunky awful shoes. The shoes of Madeleine are also clunky.
Which hat do you like best?
Beautiful celebration. I absolutely loved that shade of blue on Queen Sylvia, and the tailoring is flawless. I thought the hat was perfect. It’s nice to see classic styles being worn. The Chanel was nice and I liked the fascinator. My what a beautiful woman! I wonder what other form of brimless hat would be acceptable? I didn’t care much for the proportions of Princess Madeleines ensemble but separately they were gorgeous!
Estelle? Perfect, naturally!
Well yessiree I like all the hat’s today. The best one is that blue pillbox it looks so nice on anyone who isn’t so young anymore. The white flowers look nice with the white dress too. I even like that black claw lookin thing on the princess’es head! LOL! And that little girl is the most darling sweetheart.
That blue pillbox is gorgeous! I love the color against her dark hair. The white flower headpiece is also very nice.
Something about QS’s blue dress and hat, I don’t like it…..I don’t like the print on the dress at all and the hat, well it’s doesn’t show well on her. As for CV, she looks great, the dress and the flowers in her hair look smashing and that is a to die for dress, just love the entire outfit. PE, she is adorable, so darn cute and I love the bow in her hair. How she has grown and you can tell she is well loved and happy. PM, she looks amazing, I might be the only one who like her hat, but it’s nice on her and goes with her outfit. I like the fact the Princess’s all wore white/cream, really great to see them out together.
Dissenting opinion. I like all the hats/fascinators. I love Victoria’s chanel dress and the flowerthing looks lovely in her elegant updo. Sometimes she wears her hair too severely but this is a little softer. The blue is great on Q Silvia and I even like the black thing Madeleine’s head, it fits with her outfit and hairstyle. The only thing I don’t like are Madeleine’s shoes, too clunky.
I agree about Madeleine’s half hat. Why wear anything at all if you only go half way? Victoria’s flowers in her hair are pretty but a real hat would have been better. Silvia’s pillbox is sort of lost on her head. I like bigger pills if that is what is worn or at least wear them so they can be seen better. Estelle is precious and the bow is perfect for such a sweet child. You can certainly tell that Victoria loves being a mother!
*sigh* …. wee Estelle! Love her!
She is the sweetest little thing in her little hair bow!
Queen Silvia’s dress is impressive – much more so than the hat. Although the pillbox hat is made to match (and is a good proportion) I find it matches in colour and texture only. The decorative factor of the hat is a letdown compared to the decorative factor of the dress.
Queen Silvia looks really beautiful in this shade of blue! I like her hat best today. I wish Victoria would wear a “real” hat (she’s wearing a lot of these flowered fascinators recently) but this looks great on her. I don’t really like Madeleine’s hat for the same reasons you listed.
Do you know what the medals are that they’re wearing? Even little Estelle has a mini version pinned to her dress!
I suspect the medals are Ruby Jubilee medals especially made for this event. Queen Elizabeth gave similar medals to her family for her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. I’m just not sure if individuals outside the family are awarded these medals. Can anyone help with this?