King Willem Alexander and Queen Queen Máxima planting a tree at Rideau Hall
to commemorate their visit to Canada, May 27, 2015
Photo from Getty as indicated
Monthly Archives: May 2015
This Week’s Extras
Princess Alexandra opened the new offices of Sightsavers in a smart cream hat on Thursday (The British Monarchy)
Empress Michiko in one of her go-to grey saucer hats to celebrate a lasting legacy from her wedding (The Imperial Family of Japan)
Crown Prince Haakon participated in a youth construction course and commemorated the 75th anniversary of the joint Allied victory at the Battle of Narvik (Royal House of Norway)
Infanta Elena in her trusty fedora last weekend at a bull fight with her children and father (Diez Minutos)
Princess Beatrice and Beatrice Borromeo at the Getty wedding in Rome today (Daily Mail)
Summer royal hats often include silk blooms. Here is a great peek at the process to make these hand made beauties (John Boyd Hats)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit opened the Norwegian Festival of Literature. She is taking a hands-on approach to literacy advocacy, setting off on a “Literature Train” tour across the country (Royal House of Norway).
Queen Maxima thoughtfully wore the Canadian national colours in her tiara at a state dinner in Ottawa where she looked stunning (Daily Mail). You can see a great video report on the reasons for Dutch monarch’s visit here at NPO.
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg (who is an accomplished violinist) joined Queen Mathilde of Belgium for the final of the 2015 Queen Elizabeth music competition (Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg)
Queen Rania looked amazing for Jordanian Independence Day celebrations (Daily Mail)
Add your tiara predictions for the upcoming Swedish royal wedding over at the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor.
Dutch Monarchs Wrap Up Canadian Visit
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima concluded their Canadian tour in Toronto yesterday with stops at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, MaRS Discovery District hub, and Toronto Islands. Máxima chose another neutral hat for these engagements, this time in wheat gold straw and with a diagonally upturned brim. It is a rather simple hat of good proportion that became a stunner thanks to great styling with Máxima’s white dress and gold accessories (minus those dangling gold earrings next time, please).
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: September 5, 2013; June 3, 2013
The King and Queen will be in the USA next week and I strongly suspect we’ll see several more hats. What grade would you give Queen Máxima’s millinery fashion on this North American visit so far?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Queen Elizabeth Visits Lancaster
Queen Elizabeth travelled by train to Lancaster today where she visited Lancaster Castle, Lodge Livery Yard and caught a performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III. For this busy programme, she wore a vivid turquoise straw hat with squared crown and upturned brim. The hat was trimmed with arrow trimmed white feathers, curled turquoise feather spines and the brim was bound in a wide strip of the same fabric as the Queen’s coat. The colour is so handsome on Her Majesty and the shape of the crown (a slightly fluted square with a gently domed top) lends considerable style punch to a small-footprint piece. I would prefer the hat without the wide fabric binding on the brim but since it brings the hat and coat together in a cohesive ensemble, I’ll give it a pass.
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: February 11, 2013; April 5, 2012; February 6, 2012; September 3, 2011; May 18, 2011
Photos from Getty as indicated
Day Two Of Dutch Tour Of Canada
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima continued their Canadian tour yesterday with visits to the University of Waterloo and a Dutch family-run orchid farm in Beamsville. For these events, Máxima repeated a large picture hat in natural straw. We have seen this loosely structured piece before and while it fits squarely in beach hat territory, it’s a relaxed piece that works really well for less formal engagements and I love the unstructured-ness of it. I thought this hat’s pairing today with Máxima’s green lace suit and brown leather accessories made for a well-balanced and complimentary ensemble that looked effortlessly chic.
A number of readers have voiced dislike of Queen Máxima’s large hat pins- it seems that she took your advice for this hat and left them off. Arriving for the first event of the day, however, she was caught with a gust of wind that nearly sent her hat flying. I think Máxima needs only look to her mother-in-law (or to Queen Elizabeth, the grand dame of refined hatpin use) to find a solution which will keep her hats firmly in place without looking like they have been pierced with major weapons.
Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Her skirt and blouse is from NATAN.
Previously Worn: January 2, 2013; November 4, 2011; March 31, 2006
I thought Queen Máxima’s easy breezy straw hat was a great choice for yesterday’s visits in Southern Ontario and I loved the whole ensemble. What did you think?
Photos from Rpe/Albert Nieboer, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, and Patrick van Katwijk/dpa all via Corbis
Royal Hats 