Princess Michael of Kent has many of her hats made by legendary milliner John Boyd. Mr. Boyd has made a two domed pillbox hats for Marie-Christine- one in black felt and one white silk- each trimmed with a pair of sweeping Lady Amherst feathers. I find this pair of millinery twins particularly interesting because of the near identical use of feather trim and because of the yin-yang relationship between the two hats. Not only opposite in colour, they are opposite in material (felt for winter, silk for summer). These subtle differences between the two hats give them each a distinct look- I didn’t initially notice they were twins. Perhaps the Princess liked one so much, she ordered a twin to wear in the off season? I think most of us have done that in our own wardrobes from time to time!
Princess Michael of Kent on October 3, 2012 and May 17, 2012
Photos from Getty as indicated; Press Association
Royal Hats 
I personally love the white one better, but that’s because the feathers are much more fantastic! If I was a woman, you know I’d be stealing that from Marie-Christine’s closet.
I find Princess Michael of Kent fascinating, and she never disappoints in what she is wearing. Both of these hats look very becoming on her, although the feather on the white silk hat appears to be quite long.
Princess Michael of Kent is so stylish. She looks wonderful in both versions of the hat!
She can carry off this kind of hat with panache. I like the white hat better than the black, although I think she looks great in both of them. I just think that the silk is crisper and has more oomph than the black felt. Perhaps that hat would have looked better in black silk. That big feather is hard to carry off, and she does it effortlessly. I have always gotten a kick out of seeing what she is up to. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind on any subject, and she does, and like Prince Phillip, she has sometimes landed in hot water. More power to her!
I agree with everything you have said jamiemid.
I love both of these hats! Princess Michael looks fantastic, as always.
I had to look up Lady Amherst feathers! It’s a fancy pheasant.
Yes HatQueen, you’re right, it’s a common thing for me to order winter/summer versions of the many bespoke items I have in my wardrobe! 🙂 Seriously though, these are great hats and I love those feathers. Princess M looks terrific in them.
White…true many women would not be able to wear these…straight across the forehead.
Both are wonderful – but a lot of that is the lady wearing them – she can really wear hats like these 2 where as many ladies would look quite silly in them.