Yearly Archives: 2013

Queen Returns to the Races

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Still grinning ear to ear after her racing win yesterday, Queen Elizabeth returned today to the Newbury Racecourse. Her horse, ‘Border Legend’, ran in Race 3 but sadly, did not win. The Queen repeated this Angela Kelly designed ivory and mauve wool hat that she last wore back in December for her visit to the Bank of England.

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This hat continues to grow on me. I still prefer the Queen in hats that don’t blend in so well with her hair but I love the upturned mini-brim on this one. I also liked it much better with the Queen’s mauve dress than with her tweedy coat. What do you think?

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Queen Wins at Newbury

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Queen Elizabeth’s birthday weekend got off to a winning start today when her horse, Sign Manual, won the 4.15 race at The Dubai Duty Free Raceday held at Newbury Racecourse. Shown here with with her racing manager John Warren  and horse trainer Michael Bell, there were a few tense moments before victory was assured.

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The Queen celebrated her win with jockey Hayley Turner and wore a perma-smile for the rest of the afternoon. I wish I could be as happy about her hat as I am about her horse’s win. I love the brown straw crown with diagonal top and pleated band around it. I’m just not a fan of the tweed brim, the gigantic Medusa button and head-on collision of messy feathers. The Queen has worn this hat and matching coat many times since its debut on Christmas Day in 2007. I think she should go out on top and retire it with this win. What do you think – keep it or retire it?

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Birthday of Princess Annette

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Princess Annette of Orange-Nassau (née Annette Sekrève) is celebrating her 41st birthday today. This is the first time we’ve seen her here on the Royal Hats Blog; Annette is married to Prince Bernhard, the second son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Peter van Vollenhoven. Bernhard and Annette have “real jobs” and keep a very low profile in Amsterdam where they and their three children live. We see them occasionally at the major Dutch royal family events- weddings, christenings, Queen’s Day etc and they will certainly be present on April 30 for the inauguration of the new  and queen.

One of my favourite hats worn by Princess Annette was this black Garbo hat with relaxed brim and side spray of flowers  she wore back in November 2005 for the christening of Princess Alexia. There is just something so effortlessly glamorous about this hat on her. Isn’t that how all hats should be?

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The Queen Attends Thatcher Funeral

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The funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher was held this morning at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended; the Queen wore an asymmetrical black crepe hat with a curly-cue side detail. The shape and fabric material of the hat lead me to strongly suspect it was designed by the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly.

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The Duchess of York wore a black felt calot hat with trailing bow by Ilda di Vico.

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Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece was also in attendance. Her statement hat with wide, open net brim was unique and I thought it looked striking on her. Her hat was  a modified version of Philip Treacy’s “Mini Beano Swirl” (with the large cream swirl  removed).

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British First Lady Samantha Cameron wore a simple black straw beret with flat fabric bow.

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Several former British First Ladies were also in attendance. Sarah Brown wore a black felt calot hat embellished with black felt flowers and leaves and black net tulle.

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Cherie Blaire wore a tall black straw bumper hat trimmed with black shirred silk on one side of the hat.

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Dame Norma Major wore a black straw hat in a modified cloche shape with squared crown and downward turned brim. The hat was trimmed with a back straw bow and black and white feathers.

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Baroness Thatcher’s daughter Carol, daughter-in-law Sarah, and granddaughter Amanda all wore beautiful black hats by Philip Treacy.

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I’m sure you all join me in extending our condolences to this family at the loss of their mother and grandmother.

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Swedish Royals Start State Visit to Croatia

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King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden have embarked on a two-day state visit to Croatia. For their arrival today, Silvia chose a white calot style hat with back flower detail and net veil to match her suit. Perched on the back of her head, it had a decidedly retro vibe that I liked. I also liked the contrast with her dark hair and thought the whole look was very Queen-like.

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Designer: Mode Rosa

What did you think of Queen Silvia’s hat today?

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