Milliner Katie Vale (who you may remember from her amazing guest commentary during Ascot this year) pointed out an interesting piece about the Queen’s christening hat in the comments yesterday:
…there was a large protruding vertical seam up the back of the crown! This is appalling & not correct technique at all! When covering a hat in material you use the material on the bias (diagonal). If that’s done correctly the seam will naturally also be diagonal, and you can work it so that the material nits together very tightly. The seam should therefore be very discrete & subtle. I am genuinely flabbergasted at this, as this is basic technique & is the best way to hide your seam!
The seam up the back of the hat does not look very attractive. This, combined with the slightly off proportions, makes this hat a miss for me. The only part I like is the colour (which was probably suggested by Stewart Parvin, who designed the coat and dress. I suspect, based on this construction, the hat was made by the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly).
Does this new view and insight change your view about this hat? Thanks to our dear friend, Millinery Designer Katie Vale for pointing this out!
Photos from WPA Pool/Getty via Zimbio
Royal Hats 
I found this so interesting. I still like the Queen’s hat but I can see how doing the seam differently might have looked more polished.
I read on another site that the Queen’s outfit was Stewart Parvin–not sure where this info came from though.
Yes, I read the same information http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2013102415304/prince-george-christening-photos-four-royal-generations/
Yes, I believe the coat and dress were made by Stewart Parvin. I still suspect the hat was made by Angela Kelly.
I took it too that the seam at the back is part of the overall design to echo the seam of the coat; but I guess one needs to see the whole thing before that is apparent, so close-ups don’t reveal it! That sort of detail (picking up elements of the coat in the hat) is very typical of the way that the Queen’s outfits are put together, it seems. I think Angela Kelly is a perfectly competent hat-maker, although her hats are sometimes over-embellished – but maybe the Queen herself likes flamboyant decoration, and if so, more power to her!
Mr Fitzroy certainly noticed the hat seam and does consider it unfortunate, but chose instead to focus on the photos that show HM from the front, and how blissfully happy she appeared, bless her heart. Perhaps the unfortunate seam was a result of a rush job with the christening as a deadline, but it makes one think back to the fact that HM’s yellow hat for William and Kate’s wedding did not photograph as particularly well made either. A Cambridge hat curse? Let’s hope not.
I was too busy looking at the precious child and happy family to notice or care about a hat seam.
Neither seam is atractive: the seam in the back of the coat is itself disproportionately obvious. Nonetheless, repeating an unattractive feature (on hat) does not bring the entire outfit into balance.
To see the coat with dress, go to http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57609206/prince-georges-official-christening-photos-released. Explains the blue-green carpet fuzz on the hat.
The coat/hat color is the best feature of this outfit.
Carpet fuzz!! That made me laugh out loud!
Such a shame people feel the need to be mean on a happy blog like this. I am not the hugest fan of the style of hats Angela Kelly makes for the Queen but I will say this: the Queen obviously likes them. She is 87 years old. She clearly has a warm and trusting professional relationship with her dresser of many years. I get the impression sometimes they may even have fun embellishing those hats. What a lovely way for a rich, hardworking, elderly woman to spend a little time each week.
It does require more fabric to cut it on the diagonal, but one would want a better looking seam. Maybe it was just a have to make do, but that seam is not attractive. I do not like the cockeyed crowns of so many of the Queen’s hats, but that must just be me. The Queen must like them. Now, how and where could I see the Queen’s face when she saw her great grandbaby? All I saw was the back of her head, and I missed that seam. In a hat blog one should notice things like that, and I appreciate it being pointed out. This isi no place for personal attacks. We can be kind and still have fun.
Oh dear. Things are amiss at my favorite royal hat blog – people are getting testy. This was not, perhaps, my favorite hat, but it was pretty and I assumed that the seam was meant to mimic the coat seam (although why it would do so, I hadn’t any good guess). As for Angela Kelly, who cares if she was a housekeeper before starting on her current career? People change careers all the time and people discover their talents and gifts in different ways. The Queen obviously loves Kelly’s style and design and that’s all that matters. Dressing whatever way you want is the prerogative of a woman in her 80s (let alone a QUEEN in her 80s).
Well said, Martha. I think every woman over the age of 70 should have a carte blanche when it comes to fashion!
The vertical seam on the hat looks like an extension of the center seam of the coat and adds interest to the otherwise unadorned backside of the hat, so I kind of like it 🙂
I agree with you Lumme. I think the seam was possibly put there on purpose because of the seam down the center of the coat. While I am not in love with this hat, it isn’t horrible. The Queen’s smile as she looked at her great-grandson overshadowed the seam on the back of her hat anyway.
Looking at this, I think Lumme is right as well. Somehow, the seam doesn’t translate as well to the hat as it does the coat.
I agree there Lumme. I don’t know why there is such a hullabaloo about one seam. It seems that you are bullying Angela Kelly and I want to confront you on that. You send me emails about why you won’t publish my comments and yet you are mean to others. Shame on you.
Please read the commenting policy, posted today. Your comments during the past week have been full of personal attacks on the appearance, weight and character of various royals. Those comments will never be approved here. Since you brought this public, Audrey, I will remind you that you have one more chance or you will be permanently prohibited from leaving future comments on this blog.
I have to agree with others about Angela Kelly. She started out making matchy matchy hats for the queen to wear with certain suits and dresses. I think Ms. Kelly has gotton a bit ahead of herself. The hats got more and more tacky. Too many flowers or feathers and bows and too many of them. Simply is better. I hope someone gets to her about this hat. Kate’s hat and outfit were lovely
I love the shape of the top of the crown and the color. But I agree, that seam is very unattractive.
Why is everyone always so surprised that Angela Kelly’s hats are 1. poorly made 2. ugly 3. look totally amateur It’s not like this is a new thing.
Not all of Angela Kelly’s hats fall into the three categories you mention. One of my favourite hats of Queen Elizabeth OF ALL TIME is this one, made by Angela Kelly. In my opinion, it fits into none of your three categories. I’m sure that other readers here could come up with all sorts of examples of Angela Kelly designed hats that are really lovely.
I understand that in general, Angela Kelly’s designs are not widely admired here on the blog. Let’s just be careful not to turn this into absolutes because this is wildly unfair.
Thanks for saying this. Sometimes it feels like we can be unfair to Angela Kelly. Altho, the seam in the back of the hat isn’t very good, I have to agree. I guess everyone does work they aren’t always proud of all the time.
Hmmm, I am going to go back and look at pictures of the Queen and see if I can find any taken from the back so I can see the back of the hat. But the comments about that seam are very interesting.
Oh my! That is horrible. Wonder how such a stellar millinery could have botched it so badly!
Stellar milliner? Angela Kelly was a housekeeper when she went to work for the royal family. That’s it- a housekeeper. She got a job as one of the queen’s dressers and went from there. She has no training in hat making and is self taught. If you read the comments on this blog, her hats are usually considered horrible.
My mum is a housekeeper and she certainly is not untalented or unintelligent