46 years ago, a young Prince of Wales accompanied his parents to Ascot. The Prince and Duke of Edinburgh were in grey top hats while the Queen wore a turban entirely covered in silk blooms. It is a lot of hat for a petite monarch (one that could easily overshadow its wearer) but it is delightfully fun on Her Majesty.
Photo from Keystone/Stringer via Getty
What fun we have had this week, celebrating the 10th wedding anniversary of King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain with a look back at the fantastic hats and headpieces worn at their grand wedding:
Spanish Royal Family
Queen Sofia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina
The Bride’s Family
Paloma Rocasalano, Telma Ortiz Rocasolano, Erika Ortiz Rocasolano,
Menchu Alvarez del Vaille, Enriqueta Rodriguez
Extended Spanish Royal Family
Infanta Pilar, Simoneta Gómez Acebo, Laura Ponte, Infanta Margarita, María Zurita y de Borbón,
The Duchess of Calabria, Princess Victoria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, The Duchess of Alba
Greek Royal Family
Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Princess Pavlos, Princess Alexia, Princess Irene
Belgian Royal Family
Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, The Duchess of Brabant, Princess Astrid, Princess Claire
Norwegian Royal Family
Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Martha Louise
Swedish Royal Family
Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine
Dutch Royal Family
Princess Máxima, Princess Laurentien
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
Princess Caroline of Hanover and Monaco
Bulgarian Royal Family
Princess of Turnovo, Princess of Preslav, Princess of Panagyurishte,
Princess of Vidin, Princess Kalina
Other Non Reigning Royals
Empress Farah Dibha of Iran, Grand Duchess of Russia, Duchess of Bragança, Princess Béatrice of Orléans,
The Princess of Naples, Princess Clotilde of Savoy, Princess Inaara Aga Khan
We have finally come to the final post on our look back at the hats worn by family and guests at the May 22, 2004 wedding of the Princes of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocosolano! Our peek is at the hats worn by representatives from non-reigning royal houses.
One of my favorite hats in this group was worn by Empress Farah of Iran. In palest blue straw, this hat featured a flat crown and large, mushroom shaped brim. The brim is not a shape we see often, perhaps because it can easily swallow up the face of the person wearing it. Brim proportions aside, the hat was a lovely compliment for the Empress’ perfectly tailored coat and, as usual, she looked elegant and very refined.
Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, wore a kokoshnik-inspired hat in the same white, pink and red silk print as her dress. Trimmed in pink silk with a bow at the back, this halo shaped hat framed Maria Vladimirovna’s face and made her look all the more Russian.
The Duchess of Bragança topped her pale peach silk suit with a cream straw hat trimmed in a peach sash around the crown and bloom on the side. The brim on this hat was slightly upturned on one side- a feature I would have loved to see exaggerated more to give the hat more panache and personality. It was a little too sedate, as it was.
Princess Béatrice of Orléans, Comtesse d’Evreux showed her fashion fearlessness by pairing a bold magenta headpiece with an even bolder magenta frock. A mass of magenta straw curling leaves and flowers, the headpiece was wrapped in net tulle veil and worn directly on the top of Béatrice’s head. While I do not want to question the Princess’ fashion sense (she was a fashion consultant for many years for Women’s Wear Daily and Dior), the placement of this headpiece doesn’t seem right. Nor do the lilac satin gloves, reminiscent of identical ones worn by a certain diva Muppet.
Marina Doria, the Princess of Naples, wore a white lace veil anchored at the back of her head. While this was presumably done for religious reasons, the combination of the lace veil with Princess Marina tanned décolletage and white disco ball skirt was unexpected, to say the least. Her daughter-in-law, Princess Clotilde of Savoy, wore a headpiece of swirling white feathers that wrapped around her head. I suspect the intent of this piece was to add to the ethereal effect of her organza trimmed suit but in reality, it looked like she was sporting a pair of white ear muffs.
While we have seen numerous brightly hued and whimsical hats worn at this wedding, I do not believe any topped the chapeau worn by Princess Inaara Aga Khan for sheer fun and frivolity This hat, in white straw wrapped in an overlay of red fishnet with polka dots, was trimmed in a red, purple, lime and white straw bow at the front. Princess Inaara paired it with a white suit – a good thing, to be sure, but a choice which made the hat stand out all the more.
That draws our look back at King Felipe and Queen Letizia’s wedding to a close. And what fun this has been! I am curious to hear what you thought of these and the other MANY royal hats that made an appearance at this event. Which one was your absolute favourite?
An index of all hats worn at this wedding can be seen at this post. We’ll be back to regular royal hat news and features first thing Monday morning.
Photos from Lalo Yaky,Tim Graham and Pascal Le Segretain via Getty; El Mundo, El Mundo and El Mundo; Getty/Stringer via Getty; and El Mundo
After the Spanish government granted asylum to the abolished Bulgarian monarchy in 1951, King Simeon made Madrid his home. He and each of his five children all married Spanish citizens and the family developed close friendships with the Spanish royal family. It was thus not surprising that the entire Bulgarian royal family attended the marriage of the Princes of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocosolano on May 22, 2004.
The Princess of Turnovo, wife of Prince Kardam, topped her blue silk suit with a dramatic headpiece in beige and pale blue and feathers. I want to like this piece but I just can’t shake the image of a sandstorm swirling around Miriam’s head. Combined with her skirt, this outfit has too much ruffle and swirl going on. Sadly, Prince Kardam and the Princess were seriously injured in a car accident in 2008; Miriam recovered but the Prince remains in a coma today.
The Princess of Preslav, wife of Prince Kyril, wore a picture hat with a wide, fluted organza brim. The pale pink hat was trimmed in lace and organza leaves, creating an almost ethereal effect around Rosario’s face. The hat was a striking contrast to her tailored coat and the ensemble gave further proof as to why legendary designer Valentino considered Rosario his muse.
Prince Kubrat’s wife, the Princess of Panagyurishte, topped her lilac coat dress with a hat from Spanish milliner Candela Cort that defied description. The center of Carla’s hat, a brightly hued floral headpiece, was surrounded in a floating wired brim in lilac organza. This headpiece was reminiscent of Saturn’s ring; while its intended effect might have been celestial, it came off as rather odd.
Prince Konstantin-Assen’s wife, the Princess of Vidin, wore a latte coloured straw hat trimmed with long brown and beige feathers. This disk-shaped hat featured a slow rise in the centre but as it stayed clear of pyramid territory, it seemed to work. The jaunty angle that María placed it also showed the hat to beautiful effect. I love the warm colour on her although the feathers do seem a little haphazard.
Princess Kalina of Bulgaria is notoriously adventurous when it comes to fashion – her ecru straw hat with orange feather trim was a rather sedate choice (for her, that is). A sedate hat, however, it is not. With a double upturned brim and mass of ecru leaves and orange feathers on the brim, this hat packs a fair bit of visual punch. A decade ago, sharply diagonal ‘slice’ hats had yet to come into royal millinery fashion so this one was certainly ahead of its time. I like it on Kalina… not because it is a particularly beautiful hat but because it is so much more attractive than what she usually wears.
I can only assume Princess Margarita and King Simeon were also in attendance but have not located a photograph (any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated). My favourite hat here was the pink confection worn by the Princess of Preslav – which hat stood out here to you?
Early tomorrow morning, we will wrap up coverage of this wedding with a look at the hats worn by representatives from the remaining non-reigning royal families.
Photos from El Mundo; A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert via Getty; El Mundo, El Mundo, El Mundo, El Mundo and El Mundo
Several representatives from other reigning royal houses also attended the marriage of the Princes of Asutrias and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on May 22, 2004. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and his wife Hala bint D’aij Al Khalifa represented their country. Hala wore an interesting orange wool hat with flat crown wrapped in a slim, buckled belt. The crown of the hat sloped down into the brim without an adjoining seam and created a unique millinery shape. It is not the first hat I would have thought of to pair with Hala’s lemon yellow, flower trimmed suit and it made for an interesting and unexpected combination.
Princess Caroline of Monaco and Hanover was predictably dressed head-to-toe in Chanel. The unfinished strips of silk that made up her pale blue jacket were repeated in a coordinating silk band and rosette which trimmed her straw picture hat. I am not usually a fan of flat crowned hats but there was something about the proportion of this hat (and the way it perfectly coordinated with Caroline’s suit) that made it work so beautifully well. Very pretty, indeed.
I believe we have made our way through all of the guests from reigning royal houses who attended this wedding- next up are the guests from non reigning royal houses. We’ll start with some fantastical hats worn by the Bulgarian princesses.
Photos from AFP/Getty Images and A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert via Getty; Leo Yasky via Wire Image
Royal Hats 