The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought their new daughter, Princess Charlotte, to be christened this afternoon. The event, held at the the Church of Mary Magdalene which is on the royal estate at Sandringham, was an intimate family affair with numerous special touches. Princess Charlotte arrived in the same pram as was used more than fifty years by the Queen for her younger sons Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore a cream straw beret-base percher hat trimmed with a spray of silk blooms and straw ribbon twists. This hat, paired with a streamlined cream Alexander McQueen dress, followed the same monochrome approach that Kate established for Prince George’s christening, two years ago. There’s much to like about this hat- the proportion is great, the silk flowers are beautiful and Kate’s chignon works beautifully with it. While the hat on its own is beautiful, I thought the combination of colourless hat, dress and shoes was very elegant but disappointingly bland. Imagine this hat with a floral dress? It would have been perfect.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Designer: Angela Kelly
Previously Worn: June 21, 2014
The Duchess of Cornwall wore a new hat and dress in a beautiful soft blue. Her straw hat was trimmed with a huge silk bloom on the side and a wide inverted stripe of edging around the brim. The brim, made slightly smaller than Camilla’s other hats, was upfolded high on one side to create a ‘slice’ diagonal brim across the front. With her silk pleated and dotted dress, the ensemble was soft, feminine and so very pretty on her.
Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Carole Milddleton, Kate’s mother, topped her dove grey coat with a saucer-shaped percher hat in the same shade. The hat, which featured a saucer-within-a-saucer in two types of grey straw, was trimmed in the same appliqué lace as on the lapel of Carole’s coat.
Designer: Jane Corbett. Dress and coat by Catherine Walker
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Philippa Milddleton followed here sister’s lead in a hat and dress in monochrome cream. The hat, a straw indented circular dish, was trimmed with feathers and organdie curled ribbon.
Designer: Jane Taylor. It is a bespoke piece, similar to the Nitra design. Dress by Emilia Wickstead.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
While he did not wear a hat, Prince George wore a replica of the outfit his father wore in September 1984 to visit his brand new baby brother, Prince Harry, at St. Mary’s Hospital. This royal wardrobe recycling is such a charming, personal touch, isn’t it?
While today’s event was not on a grand scale, there were a number of lovely hats. Which one stood out most to you?
Photos from Splash News, Splash News, Splash News, and Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I swooned over the hats, clothes, jewels and accessories worn at Princess Charlotte’s christening, especially HRH the Duchess of Cambridge’s. She was perfection from head to toe. I loved the Duchess of Cornwall’s hat also but her big spots ruined her dress and the taupe bag and shoes were wrong to pair with the blue.
Of all the ladies Catherine looked just gorgeous, her entire outfit from her percher to her shoes, she was very serene and chic. The coat dress looks just fabulous on her. Not being a fan of what I call flying saucer hats, this one seemed more like a real hat, the back of it showed it sat on her head and the tilt wasn’t so forward as some of them have been.
HM, well she was beaming with joy and the color pink was so spot on……..how wonderful she looked. She seemed to really be enjoying herself in that conversation with Prince George and was paying close attention to what he was talking about…..
The only 2 that I did not like their hats was Carole M and the Duchess of C………the outfits, the hats, oh well, some don’t always use color to their advantage.
Pippa, loved her outfit and she and Catherine both looked like they stepped out of a fashion magazine …….just very elegant!
I am not usually a fan of perchers, but I think the Duchess of Cambridge chose a good one this time, with the cream color a good contrast in her dark hair, the lightness of the straw, the larger than her usual percher base in the beret-base, the classic spray of silk blooms and straw ribbon twists as trims, and her neat chignon. This hat paired so well with the streamlined cream coat dress, and matching shoes. I would have liked for her to have borrowed some colored jewels from the Queen to break the monotony of the monochrome, such as the Cambridge emeralds. I guess she wanted to wear something similar to what she did for Prince George’s christening, and something to tone with the baby’s robes. She wins the best hat of the day I think.
Though my second favorite hat at the event was the Duchess of Cornwall’s summery straw hat with its ‘slice’ diagonal brim across the front and its eye-catching trims, and though I did like the soft. light blue color, I did think it was a bit odd to be in so much blue at a girl’s christening (sorry if I am offending any politically correct readers), and I don’t understand why she ruined that stunning, soft pleated dress with those giant spots!
The rest of the hats and outfits were rather mundane and devoid of color.Though I thought it was thoughtful of Queen Elizabeth to wear pink, and I loved this shade on her, and I am always glad to see her in any picture hat, the simple flat crown and brim and simple trim, was a bit underwhelming for a Royal event like this, and I will never develop any affection for Her Majesty’s collarless coats.
Carole Middleton hat and outfit is the best- hat confirmed by Jane Corbett( via blog post) .
Sisters Middleton looked elegant from hair to tip of the shoes. Disagree on flower dress- than it will be like HM.
Camilla ‘ s ansamble – usual bad miss- you can see where professional advise ( hat and dress) used and her initiative with shoes and bag.. Well nothing new here.
Charming kids
Isn’t Camilla’s handbag awful?! Baffling choice of accessory with her quite lovely frock and hat. I’ve been known to not completely co-ordinate my handbag, but I am never in front of the world’s press so it matters little!
Love the Queens hat. The colour, style suits her. She always looks amazing. A beautiful outfit. Liked Camilla’s hat not sure on the dotted outfit.
What a lovely family event. The only thing I thought was slightly disappointing was that they didn’t pose for pics on the steps with Charlotte.
Kate – she looks lovely, but I had hoped for a bit of variety, this is her look from George’s christening done again for me. Love the Queen in this repeated pink, lovely. Interesting that we all think this hat shape is too harsh, yet she repeats it with minimal embellishment and we all like it!
Camilla is fab in blue, though I could do without quite so many dots on the frock. Carole is regal as ever! Pippa is channelling Sophie Wessex, but again, I wish she’d done something slightly different to her sister/ last time…
Must disagree about the Duchess of Cambridge. I think the cream on cream is elegant and helps her stand out without being loud/busy. It worked wonderfully in George’s christening photos, and it will this time as well. I prefer this outfit and hat to the one she wore for George’s. The Queen was lovely in pink. Looking forward to seeing the official photos!
I agree the cream on cream helps her stand out without looking loud/busy.
The lack of color today is my biggest overall complaint (except for apparently Lady Melissa van Straubenzee, who knows what’s up).
Nevertheless, all these hats are simply gorgeous in their own right. Kate’s cocktail hat with the flowers (orchids?) cascading down the one side looked exquisite, especially with her hair.
Again, not my favorite shape of hat for HM, but somehow this one works better than most of the others, and it is wonderful to see how truly happy HM is here.
So glad Camilla brought out my favorite hat of the day. The sky blue is lovely on her and this hat is divine! I hope we see it again soon. I only wish she had removed the polka dots from her outfit.
Carole Middleton is a woman definitely made for hats, and this is no exception. The lace detailing on her coat and hat are also very flattering for her.
The styling of Pippa’s outfit is a surprise considering how demure that neck is, but she looked lovely in it; I only wish she didn’t match her sister with the color.
This was a very successful display of millinery, only next time, a few of the guests need to bring a bit more color to mix things up.
George’s outfit was similar to William’s back in 1984 but it wasn’t the same one. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3149951/That-looks-familiar-George-steals-replica-outfit-worn-William-thirty-years-ago-arrives-Princess-Charlotte-s-christening.html
I am disappointed that Pippa would dress so similar to Kate. I do not like Camilla’s dress/ coat other than the colour. Her hat is fine. Sweet the Queen dressed in pink. Kate …..same style over and over. Her hair was nice.
Once I stopped looking at HM chatting with George (so cute!), I checked out the hats. Everyone looked lovely today though very little stands out. Maybe that was on purpose? I love Kate’s hair up and her hat fit and was positioned perfectly. Camilla looks great in that color of blue and though the polka dots on her coat/dress were odd looking to me, the big blue flower on her hat made me love it.
Kate looked so beautiful. Her hat and outfit are exquisite and the perfect tone to the day. I loved it.
Everyone looks nice from today but Carole Middleton gets my vote of those we looked at here for best hat of the day.
Duchess of Cambridge, her mother, and sister all wore nice hats despite my dislike of perchers. I like the scale of the Duchess of Cornwall’s hat and that one large bloom. It’s not huge or heavily trimmed with stuff her other slice hats have. The Queen looks good although I agree with HQ it seems a little austere.
The outfit Prince George wore is the similar but not the same as Prince William’s. The shirt pattern is different.
Embed from Getty Images
I think the Duchess of Cambridge looks spectacular. The hat’s shape perfectly balances the dramatic neckline of the dress, and the hat’s beautiful silk flowers and the Duchess’s done-up hair complement the plain dress.
The Queen looks spectacular too. This is her best outfit of this very busy week (which she probably knew, thus causing her to save the pink for today).
Although the Duchess of Cornwall’s hat is her usual spectacular shape, I don’t understand the style of that handbag.
While Mrs. Middleton looks perfectly fine, I think she must have been inspired by Empress Michiko of Japan and her larger saucer hats.
Now who is the woman with the bright blue and white hat is in picture #14? She stands out!
Lady Melissa van Straubenzee
Thank you!
I thought she looked gorgeous too. I love the sleek lines of her coat with the hat and don’t think it would be nearly as striking with a flowered dress. I also thought Pippa looked very beautiful. I love a tea length dress. It’s hard to wear and not everyone can.. but when it works, like it does here, it’s so feminine and elegant.
Agree with all you said!. I think Camila is usually so perfectly styled… but today her shoes and purse seemed too casual for the her outfit. Maybe she had to run out the door before changing her purse… hey, we’ve all been there. LOL
Pippa’s hat was my favorite, but in the style stakes, the Duchess of Cornwall was the big winner. Her dress and hat were lovely. Mrs. Middleton’s outfit was nice and it reminded me of several coats that both she and the Duchess of Cornwall have worn in the past. Her Majesty looked lovely in pink, and the little princess was just adorable. The pictures were fabulous. Thanks for this post. I have really been looking forward to seeing pictures of the big day, and there are some great ones here.
I thought all the hats were beautiful, but for some reason, I loved Carole Middleton’s hat the best. It was so elegant with the lace appliqué the same as on her beautifully fitted coat. I thought that Camilla’s hat was one of the smaller large hats (if that makes sense) she wears and it was such a soft blue that it looked smashing on her. She wears hats so well.I was not a fan of her matching outfit probably because I don’t think it enhanced her figure because of being so loose in the waist. Pippa’s hat was also a winner, but thought the hemline on her dress was a bit long for one so young. Kate looked wonderful in her hat, especially with her hair worn up. Good thing, too, as it must have been a little windy as we saw with the Duchess’ “Marilyn” moment. Also felt her McQueen coat fit her to perfection. Lastly, Queen Elizabeth, in her beautiful pink, looked like she always does, appropriate and elegant for every occasion.
Goodness HQ, you are so busy today with the British royals. I have not yet had time to comment on The Queen in Scotland. (I didn’t even know she was in Scotland until you wrote about it!)
I like all the hats at today’s christening of Princess Charlotte. There wasn’t one that stood out for me. The Duchess of Cambridge looked lovely, although I can see your point about a floral dress to complement the hat. The Queen was perfection from head to toe in her pink picture hat and matching coat. She looks so happy these days. While I love The of Duchess Cornwall’s hat, I’m not so sure about her dress; for me it wasn’t as stylish as some of her other outfits.
My favorite was Pippa’s hat. I thought that it had movement to it without being inappropriate for the intimate occasion. While Mrs. Middleton’s hat was nice, I don’t like the “matchy-matchy” look of the trim with her coat.
It’s so nice to see the Queen talking with her great grandson. He is so adorable! I think the hats were not bad. Everyone looked fitting.