I am still pinching myself to welcome Irish milliner Fiona Mangan, American milliner Jill Courtemanche and Australian milliner Christie Murray here for the entire week of Royal Ascot! Thank you all for sharing your incredible millinery expertise with us this week! Now for the second group of royal hats we saw at the Ascot Racecourse today:
Princess Beatrice in a new hat by Juliette Botterill
Jill: While I very much like the texture and height of this hat with Princess Beatrice’s outfit (which is one of my favorite of the week) I am not a huge fan of the exaggerated angle on her face, it feels a little hard to me. That said he finish on the hat is flawless and her overall outfit is fabulous.
Christie: I really quite like Princess Beatrice’s dress sense, she’s tends to be more adventurous with her looks than any of the other Royal’s that I’ve seen so far. In saying that, I think her headpiece lets her down this time. For such a modern look, it nearly looks like her headpiece was an afterthought. It’s just a bit too heavy for me, I would have loved her to bring some of that colour out of her skirt, to work with the youthful playfulness of her outfit.
Fiona: I love how Beatrice plays with so many different hat shapes and again this is a winner for me. The hat colour could have looked too dark but she played it up with a neutral Ivory top. I do think however, she could have gone with a plainer top to work with the beautifully patterned skirt but overall I am loving this whole outfit.
Royal Hats: I wasn’t a fan of this outfit but now you’re all making me take a second look and I think it might be growing on me…
Princess Eugenie in a repeated hat by Nerida Fraiman
Christie: What a gorgeous statement Nerida. Bravo! It just looks like something lovely has been swept up from her dress on to her head in the wind. Beautifully colour balanced and just works so well with the feminine patterns in her dress. This is the epitome of less is more, she’s shown a lot of maturity and restraint in not trimming this piece ~ just gorgeous!
Royal Hats: I’m realizing this week that Nerida Fraiman is a master with crin- the crin edging around this hat is effortlessly beautiful. Princess Eugenie wore this hat for Ascot two years ago and I love it as much now as I did then. While I love the hat, I don’t love it with this dress (which I did love previously worn with a Sarah Cant hat).
Fiona: I am also not really a fan of the dress, I like the shape and cut but I think the pattern is a little bit frumpy for her. I do like the design of this Nerida Fraiman hat but I am not too sure the colour combo works too well.
Jill: Simple, sweet and age appropriate, this is a lovely fascinator for Princess Eugenie. The look is soft enough for her feminine dress and timeless. I think she could have a gone a little heavier with the trim but it’s a very classic look an her overall look is lovely.
Sarah, Duchess of York in a new hat by Philip Treacy
Jill: How lovely, to see Sarah Ferguson included in the festivities! She has chosen a lovely dress and hat ensemble, a classic look for Royal Ascot. This Philip Treacy hat is flawless and this soft rolled trim we have been seeing all week works particularly well in the fascinator incarnation. The only thing I am not a fan of here is her jewellery, it feels a little casual to me.
Fiona: Very nice. Black and electric blue are wonderful colours together. And Philip Treacy hats are always perfect! Sarah’s dress looks really good on her and I love her patent shoes. Well done Sarah!
Christie: The hat itself is incredibly masterful, not that I would expect any less of the Millinery King. I actually don’t particularly like this outfit on the Duchess of York though. I think the black is a bit too heavy on her? I’m not quite sure that this particular shade of royal blue works with her hair colouring either? Something’s just not quite right for me with this look.
Royal Hats: Interesting- I thought the exact opposite! I think the black hat worked with the primarily blue dress and the inclusion of both colours in both pieces made provided balance. This colour combination is particularly striking on the hat. It’s a bold millinery choice for Sarah and I admire her bravery! It’s lovely to see her again.
Day four at Ascot today was a wonderful day for royal hats! Not to be forgotten, both the Duke of York and Mike Tindall looked very dapper in antique silk top hats. I sign off tonight with a wave from the most handsome of top hat wearers, the Duke of Edinburgh. Thanks to guests Fiona Mangan, Jill Courtemanche and Christie Murray for joining me today- we will all be back tomorrow to chat about the hats worn on the final day of Royal Ascot 2015.
Photos from via Mirrorpix / Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Hi HatQueen, in Sarah Fergusons hat, there is a section of the crown visible below the brim. What is this called and do you have any information on thee hats and the history of them?
I’m sorry but I’m not sure what you mean. The shape of this hat, a seamless crown and brim that are blocked from the same block (most hats have separate crowns and brims that are sewn together), is a signature Philip Treacy shape. He has been making hats with this base shape for years.
Yes Princess Eugenie looks lovely, no Princess Beatrice. Good to see the Duchess. So much black is being worn this year as well as brown.
It pains me to admit this since I love color so much, but I prefer the beige version of Beatrice’s hat to this navy one. Something about the sharp angle paired with the dark color against her fairer skin and hair seems to make this hat much harsher looking. I so want it to work, but I’m afraid it falls a bit short for me. Also, I don’t mind the white lace shirt; it’s the navy lace collar that seems to put things over the top for me.
Even though Eugenie’s hat is a repeat, it’s an excellent repeat, although like @HatQueen, I preferred it with it’s previous outfit. I hope we see this hat again, and not just at Ascot.
I loved this whole ensemble on Sarah Ferguson and think the cobalt blue and black is a great combo for her. I sometimes find matching hats and outfits a bit too much, but Sarah hits it just right! It’s also nice to see she is still welcome occasionally in royal circles, even though I know it has to be awkward at times, being a child of divorced parents myself.
I think Mike Tindall’s deep crimson tie is a great color for him, and he always looks very well put together at the races, whether it’s Ascot or Cheltenham. He is definitely one of the more fashionably consistent members of the royal family. I suspect Andrew doesn’t really mind rotating between two waistcoats; while he always looks put together, he’s very standard with his sartorial choices. But the DOE will always look fantastic, whether it’s the races or otherwise, especially for someone in their 90s!
Finally, what happened to Princess Haya? She’s usually at 4 days of Ascot (if not 5), and she suddenly disappeared this year after the first 2 days. Is it because no one in the family had horses racing the rest of the week (as I understand it)?
Ditto to everything you said. If Bea’s hat was rounded at the bottom (shave the point off) it would work better.
Fergie’s hat is great. Can’t help thinking that her invitation might be tied to the future wedding of one of her girls… I hope so!
Bea- I love that she is such a risk taker, but I agree with other commenters that this is a bit too much going on. Plain blouse would work wonders. Eugenie looks great, I like all three dress/hat combinations. Sarah looks fantastic, it’s nice to see her present and looking so well.
One more comment – LOL!
Thanks for including the link to the photo of Mike Tindall. That is a great example of a beautifully polished silk top hat! However, notice about 1/4 up the front of the hat there is a scuff. That is created simply because Mike probably brushed the hat against something or scuffed it with his hand at some point. That type of thing happens all the time when you are putting on and taking off your hat. What happened is the nap of the silk was essentially brushed against the grain, causing the scuff. To remedy the mark all Mike will have to do is take the velvet pillow I mentioned in my post last week and brush the silk with the grain and the scuff will disappear (you shouldn’t really use your fingers to try to get out the mark because the oils on your hands are not great for the silk on the hat, sort of like you shouldn’t brush a fur with your open hand). But seeing that scuff shows us how heavy the silk is. That is why Prince Harry’s hat looks so much like a felt hat – it is basically a crown of scuffs that, for some unknown reason, Harry just leaves that way. In about 5 minutes a hatter could polish Harry’s hat to look just like Mike’s.
So great to see the Duchess of York, and with the Duke and their two daughters. It is wonderful that they get along so well. I love the Duchess’s hat! (Although I’ll admit I’m a bit tired of the Treacy “soft rolled trim we have been seeing all week,” to quote Jill.) But when you see the Duchess with Princess Eugenie in the last photo in that series, see how happy they look, and how stylish they both look, it just makes me happy (and again bummed I missed Ascot this year).
One comment on the Duke of York, while he gets high marks for sporting such a beautiful topper (well done, you!) I think it is time to shop for a new waistcoat. I find it amazing that the Duke seems to own only two vests – a black one for formal events and this tan/brown/gold one we’ve seen multiple times this week (and for years!) Maybe the Duke should join his brother, the Earl of Wessex, shopping and pick up a waistcoat in that beautiful soft yellow we saw the Earl wearing earlier this week. One of the fun things about wearing morning attire to Ascot is one has the opportunity to have some fun with vests and ties. Otherwise it is a uniform.
The Duke of York probably doesn’t have as many places to wear the waistcoat compared to the Earl of Wessex. The EofW and Sophie have really been representatives for the Queen more than Andrew has been lately.
Sarah’s hat is very nice. The thing that is discordant is her hair, It is now a color not found in nature. Maybe Cams will refer her colorist. Eugenies hat is lovely and looks like it would go with many outfits
I’m a fan of Bea’s but I’m afraid I find this outfit a bit of a mess. The skirt is fab, but the top is too fussy with it (and not fitted enough either), and the sharp hat shape is unflattering. I actually like all the pieces but together it’s a little too much.
Eugenie looks fab however. That dress shape is great on her – her lovely curves look so good in 50s styling, and though the hat is nice, I agree the previous one she wore with this frock was a better match.
And while Fergie looks good, and v svelte, I do find the harsh colours of he hat a tad unflattering against her skin colour and still vibrant hair. It’s a well pulled together and on trend outfit though so she gets a well done!!
Welcome to the blog Sarah Ferguson… this may be her first public appearance in a new hat apart from the flashback section? Do you think she will now be seen at more public events and this is the start e.g. Garden parties, etc?
No! Sarah no longer has a royal role (aside from being the mother of two princesses) and today’s appearance at Ascot will not change anything.
Bea is in a hat I really don’t care for and don’t care for her outfit either particularly. Eugenie looks nice and her hat is super. I agree with the black on Fergie’s dress and had being a tad too dark or something – I think maybe pairing the electric blue with another shade of coordinating blue would have been easier for her to pull off but I do like the shape and design of her hat. Well done Yorkies!
Let’s PLEASE stop calling these princesses by that nickname. They are lovely young women- not dogs.
As soon as I saw Beatrice’s hat, I thought “I have seen that one before!” And sure enough, just a month or so ago, she wore its twin in a neutral colour…. http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/britains-princess-beatrice-of-york-attends-a-garden-party-news-photo/474978514
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to notice it’s a twin! Great catch!