When the Countess of Wessex arrived at the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg on October 20, 2012, there was a collective gasp of awe. Sophie stood out from the predictable suits and silk dresses worn by other wedding guests in an Emilia Wickstead printed frock and Jane Taylor’s dramatic “Lady A” hat. The shape of the hat, a sweeping wave straw disk with pointed ends, was unique and most unusual for a royal hat. I thought Sophie looked amazing in it.

It was therefore, most surprising when Sophie arrived at the Ascot Races in June 2013 in a twin to this hat (or an almost twin, as this hat features different trim and a more sharply curved brim). These hats are so similar, it makes one wonder why she commissioned the second one.

The story doesn’t end there- Sophie wore a third very similar hat (Jane Taylor’s Lulu design) to the Order of the Bath Service just four days earlier on June 17, 2013. While the Lulu hat was made of navy and silver metallic straw and is trimmed with flowers and feathers under the top curve of the brim, it is undeniably a close relation to the first two hats. So far, we have seen Sophie wear each of these hats just once.

I think Sophie carries the unusual shape of these hats very well. That being said, three of this particular style of hat seems like overkill to me.  What do you think of this trio of hats?

Photos from Getty as indicated; WPA Pool via Zimbio and Mark Cuthbert via Getty