As in years past, members of the British Royal Family attended Easter Sunday service together this morning at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Queen led her family in a repeated sky blue wool hat with feathered chrysanthemum trim. While this Easter-y hue of blue is so pretty on Her Majesty, the finishing on this hat (bubble at middle top of the crown, awkward back seam etc.) just isn’t up to snuff in my books. I’m afraid that even the feathered flower, which is a nice touch on this hat, pales in comparison to the amazing feathered flowers Rachel Trevor Morgan has created for some of the Queen’s other hats.
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Designer: Angela Kelly, made by Stella McLaren. Coat designed by Stewart Parvin
Previously Worn: October 24, 2014; April 8, 2014; October 23, 2013
Princess Beatrice topped her blue dress and navy jacket with a repeated blue cocktail hat. While the hat was clearly intended to coordinate with the multiple shades of blue in Beatrice’s lovely patterned dress, the voluminous mass of feathers unfortunately looked like a feather duster plonked on her head. I adore the colour of this hat on Princess Beatrice and would love to see it reworked – a feather haircut and placement further off center, down over Bea’s right eyebrow.
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Designer: Philip Treacy. Dress desgined by Markus Lupfer.
Previously Worn: August 28, 2010; June 12, 2010
The millinery surprise of the day was the Countess of Wessex, who repeated the same feather covered beret cocktail hat she wore for Easter last year. The photos today show more detailed view on this hat than we have seen before – the painterly effect of the layered feathers is truly exquisite. It’s a great hat for Sophie and I thought its pairing with her elegant pale grey coat made for a very sophisticated ensemble.
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Designer: unknown. Coat designed by Armani
Previously Worn: December 28, 2014; April 20, 2014
Princess Anne repeated a pale blue hat with split crown detail. The hat is trimmed in a beige straw ruched band around the base of the crown and several flat rosettes ceretered with pale blue faux pearls. My favourite part of this piece is the brim shape which jauntily folds up on one side, giving a sense of diagonal movement to the hat. It’s not my favourite of royal hats but its pairing with the streamlined blue dress and coat made for one of the best looks we have seen on Princess Anne in a long time.
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Designer: unknown. The split crown is an Angela Kelly signature shape.
Previously Worn: June 20, 2013; June 19, 2007
My favourite hat of the day was worn by Autumn Philips. Described by the designer as a “neutral-toned beret hat, hand-blocked in rich peach bloom felt and trimmed with taupe silk flowers”, this hat was all about the oversize cabbage rose trim. It is such a pretty Easter hat on Autumn and paired with her floral print skit and navy cape, made for a chic, modern and very feminine ensemble.
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Designer: Emily London. It is the “Oving” design.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
On first glance, it appeared that Lady Sarah Chatto (left below, beside Prince Edward) had repeated her black straw saucer hat.On a closer look, Sarah has ordered another saucer hat to go with her existing trio. This version follows the same shape as the others but varies in its use of two materials- black velvet felt on the crown and piping, and dark grey straw on the brim. While I like the contrast in texture that results, the summery light brim feels at odds with the wintry crown and piping. Perhaps with a different frock or coat, the question of season could be resolved. With this coat, however, the ensemble is regrettably off balance.
Designer: Stephen Jones
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Aside from a certain feather duster, I thought today’s British Royal Easter hats were a fairly elegant bunch. Which hat stood out most to you?
Photos from Getty as indicated; FDJD/Newspix/Corbis and FDJD/Newspix/Corbis
Royal Hats 
I love Autumn’s blue coat. Also liked Bea’s dress and Sophie’s coat neckline-lovely. Favorite hat was Princess Anne, looks like something that Camilla would wear as well.
I also loved Princess Anne’s hat. Her whole outfit looked amazing.
I like the Queen’s hat much better than you do HatQueen. The color is beautiful and it’s nice to see her in a wider brim.
I was beyond disappointed Sophie wore the exact same hat to the exact same event 2 years in a row, and it’s not even a good one; hated it then, hate it now (I’ll give her points for her coat collar). HM’s outfit and hat are nice enough (I personally love the green and blue trim, but I have favorite color bias), but it’s nothing to rave about. I really like Beatrice’s whole ensemble, although every now and then I do wonder if some feathers should be plucked from her cocktail hat. I’m a huge fan of mixing lime green with neutrals like grey and black, so Sarah Chatto get’s bonus points from me, despite repeating an oft-repeated hat style (also, her sons are so grown up!). Best dressed of the day goes to Anne and Autumn; I loved everything about Anne’s outfit, but I’m still slightly confused about how springy Autumn’s dress/skirt is compared to the more wintery feel of the rest of the ensemble. Extra shoutout to HM’s lady-in-waiting in a great blue chapeau (as seen on the Daily Mail).
The Queen’s outfit is a good colour, but the hat trim is not my favourite – too unstructured and messy looking (can’t even tell it’s a flower at a glance). Anne looked extremely elegant – she rarely hits these heights, so it’s good to see! Somehow not so keen on Autumn – it would be better with her hair up like Sophie’s. I like Sophie’s hat and this coat goes nicely, and the gloves give it a slightly more formal air than it might otherwise have. Beatrice is also very nicely turned out.
Especially since you commented on the placement of Beatrice’s hat, I believe I noticed some pins in her hair creating a base to attach the hat. That made me wonder – undoubtedly all the family gathered after church for lunch. In the past, women would have kept their hats on after removing their coats, even at the table. With today’s modern hairstyles, I wonder if that is still the case? Or, do they whip them off and run a brush through their hair? For those of us who don’t live in hat-wearing societies, yes, those are the kinds of questions that cross our minds. 🙂
Good question. My guess is that hats are removed for lunch- what do the rest of you think?
Hats are worn at lunch on “Downton Abbey,” except for the hostess, correct?
Good point. Question is if the Windsors still follow 1920s etiquette in such things!
Loved that Anne wore such a pretty hat and coat. Never liked Sophie’s hat from the first time I saw it. Such an odd combination of feathers. Beatrice’s hat was such a pretty color on her, but you’re right, Hat Queen, the feathers could be trimmed a bit. Autumn’s hat was really nice because of its neutral color. That hat would work with so many styles and colors! I love the blue color on Queen Elizabeth, but am tired of seeing the same styles over and over. I realize that she is older and has settled on a particular look, but would love to see her in something different besides her matching hat, coat, dress, and brooch. Also realize why she wears the shoes she does, but don’t they make them in anything but black? That said, she is always dressed immaculately and is a wonderful representative for her country.
I agree with what penelopeshaffer2015 says: April 6, 2015 at 8:36 am. Autumn’s hat was my favourite.
The Princess Royal looked nice. The Queen wore her regular uniform. Princess B looked good in her outfit. So nice to see that. Autumn’s skirt was out of place a bit. Louise is so sweet but the coat is small.Her Mom was fine. There seems to be a cutoff picture of Princess MargareT’s daughter in the background. Would like to see her more clearly. They all looked nice. None really wore an Easter bonnet though.
Such a high-profile outfit, the Queen’s christening outfit was a surprise repeat (yet again). No, the flowers don’t match some of RTM’s in technique nor design, but I like the hat’s color and proportions and the fact that the coat fits. (Since it’s by Stewart Parvin, of course it fits!) One only sees the hat’s back seam from the back, and the coat has the same unusually noticeable seam! (Since one rarely gets a back view, it does make me wonder about some other hats’ possible back seams, however.)
Princess Anne’s whole outfit is surprisingly good. Everyone was presentable, even Beatrice’s feather duster, which goes surprisingly well with the dress.
Well yes, I too was taken with Autumn’s hat and thought it the best of the bunch. Best coat goes to Sophie, however best overall look for mine belongs to Princess Beatrice. I thought the whole ensemble looked rather nicely put together and I was okay with her millinery choice. I liked Autumns cape but thought the skirt a little odd, and how shall I say……tight….and short!! Now to Sophie’s much discussed hat. The Daily Mail has a brief article about the royal family attending church and there is a very close up picture of Sophie which shows the hat in great detail. Personally I am not a fan- a mixture of too many different types of plumage, odd colour combinations because of that and basically too much dead bird for me…Sorry.
I like this outfit on Her Majesty, partly because of the memory of the first time she wore it, ie the christening of Prince George but I do think the pattern of the dress underneath is rather nicely coordinated with the coat. I thought the trim on the hat was okay.
I loved what Princess Royal wore, she looked so elegant and chic, this is one of her best looks in a long time, and Autumn’s hat is adorable, love the color, the pretty cabbage roses, everything about the hat is great, now tell me did anyone else notice that the blue whatever was under that cape did not match the cape, and that short whatever was not going with that hat, the only thing good about her look is the hat and her hair. Did not like the that on the Queen, it always looks a bit top heavy on her and PB, well that feather duster does her no good. And for CS, since I don’t like feathers like this on a hat, plastered down, not a good hat.
I think that they all looked lovely. I admit to a certain bit of disappointment that Sophie repeated that hat (I could be mistaken but wasn’t it among our picks in the Worst Hat contest?) but she did look very chic. That being said, how could such a stylish woman not pay closer attention to her own child’s appearance? Poor Lady Louise needs a new coat. She has been wearing that pink number for years, since it was down to her knees. Also, the girl is 11 years old. How about something other than those tights and shoes? I am not picking on this child. I just think that she deserves to wear something a lot more fun.
I really hope the coat is Louise’s own favourite and thus still in use since it really is starting to get too small. She had it in christmas 2012 if not earlier and three years is a long time with a growing child.
I am really not the biggest fan of Princess Anne’s hat but other than that the outfit is very stylish and modern. Way to go Anne!
Let’s go easy on comments about Lady Louise’s fashion.
The Queen looked as usual. Love the outfits worn by Princess Beatrice and the Countess of Wessex. I thought the dress of Autumn Phillips too short. Xxx
Everyone is in thrifty mood! I rather like seeing that outfit of Beatrice’s again, I sometimes wonder just how much they must spend on new rigouts, so it’s good to see a repeat every so often. That said, I’m a bit bored with Sophie – repeating that hat to the same event just feels a bit lame. Although it’s a sophisticated outfit, I just feel a tad bored. The Queen’s blue is nice but oft seen, Anne looks fabulous, that coat is amazing on Her (and I’ll wager, given the split crown that hat is an Angela Kelly). But yes, no doubt at all – Autumn is the outright winner. That coat is the star of course, but she’s put together a fashion forward look around that and she looks damn fabulous.
Yes, James, I had the very same thought about Princess Anne’s hat!
Agreed. The trim on Princess Anne’s hat is also reminiscent of several other Kelly designs.
My favourite hat of the day was worn by Autumn Philips. This neutral-toned beret hat, trimmed with taupe silk flowers. was an excellent investment, because it can be worn with so many other ensembles. I was so disappointed that other royals wore stuff we have seen before.
I thought they all looked lovely but the Countess of Wessex and The Princess Royal were stand-outs.