The British Royal family accompanied Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to church this morning at St. Mary Magdalene near the Sandringham Estate. Queen Elizabeth repeated her large black fur hat but paired it with a new burnt orange coat with coordinating black fur cuffs. The look is a little too Halloween-y for my taste and it does look like there is a cat curled up for a cosy nap on Her Majesty’s head… but in the spirit of Christmas, I’ll hold my tongue.
Designer: Unknown
Previously Worn: Feb 25, 2005
The Queen’s annual Christmas greeting speaks poignantly of reflection and features some never-before seen footage of the photo shoot following Prince George’s christening. You can watch it here. I’m going to take the rest of the day off to enjoy Christmas- we’ll look at the hats worn by other members of the British Royal Family tomorrow. Happy Christmas!
Photos from Chris Jackson/Getty via Zimbio
Royal Hats 
The burnt orange coat was very chic, and a welcome change from the usual palette’s HM tends to stick to. The hat was dramatic and bold with it.
I used to have a fur hat so I’m not as offended as some people about these kinds of hats. I like how the cuffs match the hat but I’m not sure about the orange coat.
Thumbs down on the hat. What the heck??
I was very confused by the published photos of the royal family attending church on Christmas. Clearly they are two separate events – one without hats and the ladies not dressed in ‘appearance’ clothes, the other with hats and attire more what we would expect for a photo event. I was surprised there was fur everywhere – the Queen in a full-length fur coat (but I can’t imagine her attending a church service without a hat), the Princess Royal and Countess of Wessex in fur trims. I agree the black fur hat on the Queen looks poorly placed, especially with that ‘notch’ in the center. If farther back on the head it would have been nicer (if you are a fur person). I liked the coat (I’ll think of it as bittersweet in color), and as I recall, the Queen has not adhered to the standard ‘red and green for Christmas’ for a while anyway.
It is my understanding there are indeed two trips to church. An early morning private family trip where the Queen receives Holy Communion. Then a public service.
I’m not in love with the fur hat on any-one, but the teaming of black with that beautifully rich burnt orange coat was marvellous.
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”).
The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
http://www.halloweenhistory.org/
Black and orange together do not sent my mind to thinking of Halloween, that is populist American culturist thinking I dare to say.
I know exactly you are referring to. Zimbio and other sites have two sets of photos, both indicating the Queen was on her way to church at Sandringham on Christmas 2013. When the Queen was hatless and in the full-length fur, perhaps she was receiving the others at the house — maybe for breakfast. Then everyone changed clothes before church. ??
You’re right too that the Queen hasn’t been red or green at Christmas for years.
There were two trips to church: to early morning service (privat) ant to morning service (public)
Yes this is like a baby Bearskin that is hoping to grow tall enough to be in Trooping the Colour someday. Hmmm… there’s a kids book in there somewhere I think! If it was set on the back of the head it would be more successful. But HM looks lovely and well regardless!
When first viewing Her Majesty, I was taken by surprise. I love the color of the coat and no it’s not just a Halloween color, it is a very warm and rich color to wear and she does it nicely. The hat, Oh my goodness, A huge no no for me, I don’t like fur at all, I don’t like killing animals to wear fur or to eat, so this is just not right in my eyes. One of her nice black hats that she wears would have been so much better. She looks very happy and delighted to be out with the people, and Catherine and her looked very comfortable together, I loved Catherine’s hat, let me shop her closet for hats.
I’m not sure it had a Hallowe’en vibe to English people, it’s become more of a thing recently, but it isn’t an association one would immediately make in the same way that red and green might indicate Christmas, for instance. Actually, I like it as an overall effect. In terms of the hat, though, I wish it were worn a bit further back on Her Majesty’s head – like this it looks too much like a soldier’s bear-skin manque.
I don’t usually like orange and black together, but I have to say, HM’s outfit is lovely (she always manages to pull her outfits off though, and I suppose I’m biased as she’s my favourite royal) and her hat looks very cosy, it reminds me of the typical Russian winter hats.
I’m with you on both comments, the hat and the color of clothing. a bit strange for Christmas, and perfect for Haloween!l
One can only hope that the coat reads as more of a ‘Persimmon’ tone when seen in person. Otherwise HM looks happy and well!
Happy Christmas to you all!
Ohhh! I wish I could like it, but I just can’t. I hope Her Majesty had a Happy Christmas. I will not criticize her hat…but I do hope it is out of circulation for a long time! Thanks for sharing the video.
The hat is bad.
When I first laid eyes on this hat this morning, I too thought someone in the palace had mixed up Christmas and Halloween. After the brouhaha of the Queen’s wearing a fur hat in 2010, never since repeated, I thought she would eschew fur on new outfits. While this may be the black fur hat she used to wear with a bright green coat, later replaced with a matching green (and black) cloth hat, I suspect that this may be a new black fur hat, hopefully soon replaced by a matching orange (and black?) cloth hat.
I am wondering if it is Halloween-y to Americans. I am not sure it is such a big holiday in England. I rather like this on Her Majesty. I think it looks elegant but approachable. And I so like bright colors on her.
Christmas Greetings and Good Tidings, however, the hat looks like a tall bear skin hat has been cut down and it’s out of proportion.
No liking the hat too much, but the rest of the look is great.
Oh I really liked it! I love the Queen is a rich colour like this – and with the black hat it was very dramatic. I loved it!
I agree. I think that the outfit, hat and gloves look lovely. I used to own a hat like that and gloves as well until I moved to a climate where they must be packed away.