Ten years ago today, the first part of Prince Albert’s inauguration as reining monarch of Monaco took place. While the pomp and circumstance would happen several months later during Monaco’s national holiday, July 12, 2005 saw the Monaco royal family attend a morning dedication mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. This inauguration mass formally marked the beginning of Prince Albert’s reign.
For this event, Princess Caroline topped her Chanel tweed coat dress with a large black picture hat, also by the couture fashion house. The flat crowned hat with wide brim was memorably covered in black feathers, leaving a swirling vortex of spiky texture on the top of the hat. It is not an overtly attractive hat but, as is most haute couture, it is most interesting to behold.
To my knowledge, Caroline has not repeated this hat in the ten years since she first wore it at this event (it clearly can not be paired with just anything and I suspect it was custom made for this dress). What do you think of this unusual piece? Has a decade done anything to diminish its fashion relevance?
Photos from Getty as indicated and Stephane Cardinale/People Avenue/Corbis
Royal Hats 
