The wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles ten years ago was attended by numerous members of the British Royal Family. After looking at the hats worn by the couple’s immediate families and Charles’ siblings,let’s look back at the millinery worn by members of the extended British Royal Family.
Viscountess Linley followed the fascinator trend of the time with a statement headpiepiece of pink feathers. The piece curved around her head, down the side of her face, leaving her looking like her head was alight in pink flames. I adore the colour of this headpiece with her grey sill suit find the shape to be overly theatrical. Lady Sarah Chatto was characteristically streamlined in a large dove grey picture hat. Embellished only with a slim silk band around the base of the crown, the focus of the hat was found in the contrasting shapes of the flat crown and cartwheel brim. With Sarah’s coordinating dove grey dress and coat, the look was streamlined, clean and elegant (and the perfect backdrop for some of her late mother’s diamonds).
The Duchess of Gloucester (center, below) topped her tailored powder blue coat with a wide picture hat in the same shade. The hat was wrapped in multiple strips of organdie ribbon braided in a wide plait.
The Duchess of Kent wore a flirty mint green cocktail hat with silk base and cascade of side feathers. While I think more vibrant colours are much more flattering on Katharine, her hat was whimsical and unexpected and I liked it much more than her pale floral and mint green silk suit.
Princess Alexandra of Kent topped her lilac jacket with a felt hat in the same shade. The higher-than-usual domed crown was balanced by a wide brim that slightly upturned on one side and a triple pleated band that knotted at the front of the hat. I adore this shade of purple on Alexandra but wonder how many sandwiches were hidden under the tall crown (what other purpose could warrant the height of that crown other than smuggling snacks?)
Princess Michael of Kent chose an ensemble in classic navy and white. Her hat also featured a domed crown, anchored by an oval brim in cream straw. The hat’s only trim, a curving horizontally placed feather spine, was a little austere but emphasized the oval shape of the hat. The austerity of the hat balanced the fussiness of her suit and accessories (how many brooches does a royal really need?) and I think her hat translates more successfully today than the rest of her ensemble.
Stay tuned for the final post covering this wedding which will look back at the hats worn by royal guests.
Photos From Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Princess Michael of Kent was the clear winner here for me in this group. Her navy and white outfit and hat was crisp and well coordinated.
I should have mentioned this earlier, but I want to thank Royal Hats for taking the time to put photos together in a somewhat order very splendedly. I’ve loved going down “memory lane” from ten years ago. Thank you very much.
You’re welcome, Peggy. It has been fun to take a look back a millinery fashion a decade ago.
I truly loved everybody since this is really the first time I’ve seen who attended the church and/or civil service. Being here in the State’s, the coverage ten years ago was somewhat limited. I would hate to comment critically when it appeared everyone was having a very good time. In one of the photos, is that Princess Mette-Marit in the royal blue? She looks very becoming.
Serena looked quite well here, but I’m not as enthused about it now as I was then. Sarah wins again, but gets no points for originality. Has Birgitte ever repeated this hat? I thought this looked lovely on her and am sad we have not seen it again. Katharine, Alexandra, and Marie-Christine all demonstrate what was not so great about fashion and style in the early-to-mid 2000s (I know I didn’t dress great then either [I was a junior in high school when this happened], so it’s so much a criticism as a recognition of it happening and the need to move forward haha).
I searched for a repeat of the Duchess of Gloucester’s hat (to show you all a better view) but I couldn’t find one anywhere. I suspect she has repeated this hat but I can’t find any photos in public record.
Wow, did I read what I wrote? “so it’s NOT so much a criticism . . .” is what I meant to say. Sorry.
Viscountess Linley: I will confess that I am no fan of fascinators, but they were all the rage at this time, so I will extend some forgiveness to her on those grounds. She doesn’t suit this style, it is too big for her, and the piece trailing down at the side of the head looks ridiculous. The pink color suits her well and works well with the color of the suit. I find the style of the suit too matronly for her.
Lady Sarah Chatto: She looked elegant in the dove grey outfit, but she is too petite to pull off such a large picture hat with a cartwheel brim. The hat was lovely, but it was wearing her. It was great to see some of her late mother’s diamonds emerge from the vault.
The Duchess of Gloucester: She looked good in powder blue, and she is tall enough to be able to carry off this large picture hat.
The Duchess of Kent: I didn’t like the mint green color on her at all. The cocktail hat, with its big cascade of side feathers, over-powered her, and looked to young in style for her. I agree with HatQueen that more vibrant colors are much more flattering on her. I didn’t think the cut of her pale floral and mint green silk suit was flattering to her figure, and the jacket looked too tight.
Princess Alexandra: The lilac color looked good on her. I thought the high Edwardian neckline looked a bit to much like a costume outfit. The hat was too near Mad Hatter territory for me. The high domed crown almost looked comical, especially with that huge knot at the front of the hat. This is probably the worst hat I have ever seen on her. Perhaps HatQueen was right, and she was smuggling snacks in her hat.
Princess Michael of Kent: The princess looked stylish in her classic navy and white suit. She is tall enough, and broad-shouldered enough, to be able to carry off these domed crown hats. I quite like the hat’s only trim, the curving horizontally placed feather spine, that looked like it was floating like a halo around the hat. I didn’t think the addition of the brooch and the flower worked, and fought with the simplicity of the rest of her outfit. Overall, I think her hat and outfit was the most successful out of this group of Royals.
Viscountess Linley love her hat.
LOVE Serena’s headpiece except for the bit trailing down. Chop that off and it’s fabulous!
The rest are meh. OK in the day but nothing to be remembered.
Smuggling snacks! Odd shape on that hat.