I was interviewed on the marvelous royal blog, Luxarazzi yesterday (you can read our chat here). The last question asked if I could invite six royals (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would find an invitation in their mailbox? It was an incredibly difficult question to answer but here is my response:
There are six particularly fearless royal hat wearers who immediately come to mind: Queen Elizabeth, Princess Beatrix, Queen Mathilde, Queen Máxima, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai. I would love to hear each of these royal ladies’ approach to hat wearing, their funniest stories involving hats and how much input they have (or would like to have) in the design process. Of course, dinner would not be complete without asking about their favourite and least favourite hats.
After more thought, I need to stretch my dinner table to include the Duchess of Cornwall as well.
As we move into the weekend, dear readers, I pose this same question to you: If you could invite six royals (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would find an invitation in their mailbox? I look forward to hearing your responses!
Photos from Patrick van Katwijk via Monarchy Press; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty; Remko delWaal via AFP; Stephen Lock/Rex Features via i-Images ; Dean Mouhtaropoulos, Chris Jackson, and Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty
Royal Hats 
1. Queen Elizabeth II
2. Duchess of Cornwall
3. Princess Beatrice
4. Crown Princess Mary
5. Queen Maxima
6. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
Hi!
1- HRH Duchess of Cambridge
2- Late Diana, Princess of Wales
3 -Queen Maxima of Netherlands
4 -Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
5 -Queen Letizia of Spain
6 – Queen Rania of Jordan
These women inspire me in all the ways I can imagine…
Hmmm…here’s my list:
Queen Mary (for hats and her jewelry)
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Maxima
Princess Haya
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Queen Silvia of Sweden (secrets of tiara hair)
And for terrific “eye candy”, Crown Prince Haakon
what an iteresting question. I would go with Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Margaret, Farah Diba, Empress of Iran, The Duke of Windsor, Prince Hamdan, the crown Prince of Dubai and just to liven things up, not really royal but with royal connections, Lillie Langtry
HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
Diana, Princess of Wales
HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Pas facile mais j’inviterais
La Reine Elizabeth
La Duchesse de Cornouailles( et Charles)
La Reine Maxima
La Princesse MARIE du Danemark (et Joachim)
un vrai festival de jolis chapeaux
I’m not sure about the guest list (I’d be tempted to make a go of it with just Princess Margaret, were she in the right mood), but surely such an event should be, not a dinner, but rather a gala hat-mandatory luncheon?
Thanks Luxarazzi and Hat Queen for an interesting interview. I would love to have a dinner party with Queen Elizabeth, Princess Beatrix, Queen Mathilde, Queen Máxima, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai too! I would ask them to bring along their favorite and least favorite hats and let me try them on.
What interesting combinations of people. For pure hat-wearing ability one cannot leave out Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the most stylish Royal lade ever! Here are some hatted pictures of her – sadly, in black and white… http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt6c9d3z6C1qgz8jvo1_400.jpg http://31.media.tumblr.com/c0f28c5a6fe4343b2786b31f919fc98b/tumblr_mmidpm5d7h1qcfftgo1_500.jpg
While many on my list are picked because they are wonderful royal hat wearing ladies. Here are additional reasons why they make the list.
I would invite C.P. Mary, because I love her style. Queen Letizia to see what she is like. The Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex to see the relationship between the two royal women. Lastly, I would invite C.P. Victoria because she seems down to earth, along with her adorable daughter, Princess Estelle. Princess Estelle is just too cute to leave off the list.
An easy choice for me, based only on their style, confidence and originality as hat wearers. In this order:
– The Queen, who has created a unique and very personal style
– Queen Máxima, who has understood that even in a younger generation a queen must wear a hat (well, everybody should wear a hat…), and who can rock anything
– Princess Haya, for OTT glamour and breathtaking couture designs
– The Duchess of Cornwall. it is amazing how a woman her age and her height (not so tall) can rock huge beautiful hats and always keep a sense of proportion and elegance.
Frankly I don’t need anyone else at my dinner, but if I have more seats to fill:
– Princess Beatrice, the most daring/crazy hatwearer ever
– the Prince of Wales
I would be very happy to invite: Queen Mary of Teck, Queen Elizabeth II, The Countess of Wessex, Queen Sonja of Norway and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
What a great question – and how difficult to answer!
Queen Elizabeth 1 & 2, Zenobia of Palmyra (just because I’d like to know more about her) Princess Grace, Tsarina Alexandra and Empress Josephine. Not all known as hat wearers but all interesting women.
So if we’re being strict on hats (and I sneakily get a second set):
Maxima, Mary, Victoria, Sophie, Haya and Caroline.
Oh heavens….
Queen Mary
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Queen Maxima
Crown Princess Mary
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth II
And in the interest of having an even number at the dinner table 😉
Princess Mabel
I chose these more based on personality than hats, to be honest, but I bet Eleanor of Aquitaine would have some amazing hats were she around today!
Great list. If I were choosing on criteria other than just hats, Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II would certainly be on the list. Listening to their conversation would be fascinating.
Kate (obviously!), Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Zara Phillips, Prince Harry and Charlotte Casiraghi. Can they all bring a date too?!
I forgot to add that I REALLY love Princess Haya’s bright pink hat! Such an unusual combination with a peach dress but it’s amazing!
I would invite:
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Princess Astrid of Norway
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Princess Mable of The Netherlands
Queen Paola of Belgium
The late Duchess of Kent, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark
A mix of ages and interests. I think they’d go well together. Enjoy!
If I was creating my list on criteria other than hats, it would also include Princess Mabel!
Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi); Princess Grace of Monaco; Princess Diana; Princess Mary of Denmark; Eleanor of Aquitane; Livia, wife of Augustus Caesar
Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Marina Duchess of Kent, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Maxima, Countess of Wessex, Viscountess Linley–all women with their own style and my bonus would be the Duchess of Windsor
Duchess of Cornwall, princess Mary , princess Beatrix ,Queen Mathilda , princess Micheal of Kent, and one surprise designer…
Princess Beatrix, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duchess of Windsor, Queen Mathilde, Princess Grace, The Duchess of Cornwall…can I have six more invites?? 🙂
What a difficult but fun question! In the end I chose Queen Silvia, Queen Sonja, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Maxima, and Queen Mathilde. I think it must be very hard to marry into a royal family especially when you remember what it was like to have “freedom” in your life and I would like to hear about their experience. I would have to add Queen Elizabeth because I admire her so much.
Interesting idea – having all royals by choice! I’d love to hear that room speak!
I’d want to talk fashion and royal gossip with The Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson), Princess Diana, Princess Margaret, Princess Gloria of Thurn and Taxis, Princess Grace of Monaco. And Princess Michael of kent for some snark.
Maria Theresa of Bohemia, Elizabeth l, Elizabeth ll, Margaret of Anjou, Cleopatra and Marie Antionette. Not only would I love to see the hats the conversation would be wonderful.
hello Id invite Queen Elizabeth 1 & 2 HRH The Duchess of Cornwall Queen Letizia of Spain HRH The Countess of Wessex HRH Crown Princess Victoria love your blog!
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent. What a dinner that would be!