So far in our series on the signature shapes hat designer Angela Kelly uses for Queen Elizabeth’s hats, we have looked at the “Diagonal Crowns“, “Flat Brims”, the “Teardrop Crowns“, and the “Wrapped Crowns”. Today we’re going to look at another distinct shape, one I call the “Split Crown”.
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Touring East Sussex on Oct 31, 2013 and celebrating the 150th anniversary of the underground, March 2013
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Visiting Ground Zero in New York, July 2010 and welcoming the Emir of Qatar to England, October 2010
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At the Epsom Races, June 7, 2014 and at Royal Ascot, June 16, 2016
UPDATE: Since this post was published, the Queen has added these additional hats in this shape
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Remembering the WWI Gallipoli campaign on its 100th anniversary, January 10, 2016
Marking St David’s Day, Mar 3, 2017 with a visit to The Royal Welsh Regimental Family at Lucknow Barracks
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Visiting a Windsor elder care center on April 12, 2018
These hats all feature a divided crown; one side is straight while the other follows the diagonal shape of a tulip petal. Of the four hats seen here, two have upturned brims while the other three have classic short cartwheel brims. I think the hat works well in the white and red forms we see here- something about the textured tweed fabric used on these two versions makes this uniquely shaped crown work much better (same as the purple hat above, which looks beautiful in straw which has its own natural texture). The white and red hats also feature large feathers which makes the seam of the split crown less prominent. It’s not my favourite hat shape but of the interesting Angela Kelly-esque shapes we have looked at so far, I think it is the most successful. What do you think of this unique hat shape?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Another of this general category:
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Perhaps this hat should appear here too:
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Here is a photo from 2006. I don’t know whether it’s an early split crown hat from AK or whether it could be someone else’s inspiration for AK’s split crowns. One sees that distinctive shape.
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Is this remake a split crown too?
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Great catch. The post has been updated to include this.
The rich crimson one is rather beautiful!
I don’t mind these shaped crowns as much as the other Angela Kelly designs and the difference in the brims mixes it up a bit. I think the upturned brims work better when the hat is all one color, as in the tweed. The pink/black one should be too costumey and on anyone else it would be but somehow HM makes it work, probably because the coat is predominantly the pink and the hat breaks it up a bit. And because of her big smile red is my absolute favorite of this group, the feathers really make it!
This is one my my favorite hat shapes for the Queen because of its diverse decorative possibilities.
I like all of these hats. I think they all suit the Queen well. My favorite was the one she wore when she visited Ground Zero in New York in 2010.
This hat is OK. I agree that it looks better in tweed. It’s not very atttractive in that brown shiny satin.
I actually like this hat shape. It gives the eye something to focus in on that is different than the normal shape crown for a hat. I like unique without going overboard. To me the split crown is a fun vision of style and suits the Queen.
I think that these are very competent hats that ring the changes a bit with the split crown. Either public figures develop one style and stick to it (the Queen Mother, for instance), or else they have a wider repertoire and depend more on other things like colour-blocking for their public recognition. The Queen doesn’t have a single hat shape , so I would say the more variety, the better. Most members of the public would probably be hard-pressed to say how her various hats differ, but I think subconsciously it stops them being boring. The only one of these that I think is less successful is the grey and blue one, and somehow that’s to do with the brim. I like the red one very much, the feathers are just the perfect embellishment.
This is a real nice type of hat. I like the beige one with the blue under brim. It looks real nice with Lilabet’s flower dress.
I much prefer the rolled brims on the Queen, but I do agree that a feather or something to help conceal the split in the brim is preferable. Something looks rather hard or harsh about those crowns, and I’d like to see a softer look on the Queen as she ages.