Yearly Archives: 2015

Trooping the Colour: Extended British Royal Family

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Trooping the Colour is wonderful not only because it is Queen Elizabeth’s official birthday celebration but because it is attended by the many members of the extended British Royal Family who we seldom see throughout the year. While the Linley family did not attend this year (along with Princess Anne’s children and grandchildren), the Kent family was well represented. Princess Alexandra of Kent repeated a dove grey hat wrapped in wide ruched sash around the based of the crown and dotted net veil. With her tailored grey jacket, she looked most elegant.Lady Nicholas Windsor, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Helen Taylor and the Countess of St. Andrews, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s daughter-in-law, Lady Nicholas Windsor, wore the most avant garde hat of the day, a brimless moulded piece in ecru straw trimmed with a large u-shaped embellishment. While some might think her hat sprouted horns, I liked the unusual trim and Paola wore the piece very well. The Countess of St. Andrews wore a large navy picture hat with square crown and cartwheel brim edged in a wide white stripe; her hat was trimmed with a large white.

Lady Helen Taylor wore a black beret-based percher hat lavishly trimmed with opalescent paillettes and widely woven black net veil.  You can see a detailed photo is creative hat here.

Designer: Stephen Jones. It is the “Nerve” design from SS 2015
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Michael of Kent repeated her angular, pale grey pillbox with dramatic ostrich plume trim. This hat is an excellent pairing with her austere dress and coat and Marie-Christine looked fabulous.

Designer: John Boyd
Previously Worn: October 18, 2015; June 18, 2014; June 16, 2014

Zenouska Mowatt, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Julia Ogilvy, June 13, 2015 | Royal Hats

Princess Michael’s daughter, Lady Gabriella Windsor, wore a large picture hat in pale pink straw trimmed with three large curling sashes. If this hat is, as I suspect, the OC-875 design from Philip Treacy’s summer collection this year, it features a flat crown and large, cartwheel brim. Princess Alexandra’s daughter-in-law, Julia Ogilvy wore a pink beret trimmed with large flowers while Zenouska Mowatt (Princess Alexandra’s granddaughter) wore a dusty pink curved hat which appeared to be trimmed with silk flowers and a crin overlay on the brim.

The Duchess of Gloucester repeated her raspberry pink straw hat. It’s a fine hat that unfortunately, is not helped by the tulled scarf wrapped around it.

While not visible in photos from today, the Duchess of Gloucester’s daughter-in-law, the Countess of Ulster,  wore a navy percher hat. Lady Sarah Chatto repeated her black straw saucer hat. This draws today’s coverage of Trooping the Colour to a close. Which hat was your favourite on the Buckingham Palace balcony today?

Photos from WeirPhotos/Splash News and WeirPhotos/Splash News via Corbis; and Getty as indicated

Trooping the Colour: British Royal Family

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Much of the Queen’s immediate family joined Her Majesty for her official birthday celebration this morning. For this event, the Duchess of Cornwall repeated her cream straw picture hat with up-swept brim. The smoothly curving lines of this hat and the gossamer straw it is constructed from combine to give it a dramatic shape that feels very airy and light. Not everyone can pull off such a large hat but I think Camilla wears it well.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn:  June 19, 2013; June 14, 2011; April 29, 2011; June 16, 2009

In her first official engagement since Princess Charlotte’s birth, the Duchess of Cambridge attended today’s festivities in a new hat. A structured piece made of white sinamay trimmed with curled feathers, this saucer hat is a substantially larger piece than the hats Kate has worn in the past year. While I’m not sure about the shape (the high rim of the saucer makes it more of a basin than a saucer), the hat made a great pairing with Kate’s beautiful blue and white coat.

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Designer: Silvia Fletcher for Lock and Co. It is a bespoke version of the Marisabel design. Coat from Catherine Walker.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Beatrice topped her grey silk coat dress with a black headpiece lavishly embellished on one side with sparkling beads. The headpiece has a beautiful sense of movement and texture and I loved the way it tied in with her belt. The piece also brought a welcome edgy contrast to the Peter Pan collar on Beatrice’s coat and made for an ensemble that is the best of retro chic.

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Designer: Juliette Botterill
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Eugenie topped her tan and black dress with a beautiful new saucer hat. Made of cream pinopok straw, the percher hat is trimmed with a silk rose and curling, bleached pheasant feathers and a slim straw bow. The proportion of this hat is just right for Eugenie and the colour is a lovely contrast against her dark hair. This piece was by far, my favourite saucer hat of the day.

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Designer: Juliette Botterill. It is the Rose and Feather Trim Percher
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Prince Andrew repeated his black silk top hat while Prince Harry wore the uniform and cap of his ranking of Captain of The Blues and Royals.

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While he did not wear a hat, all eyes were on Prince George who made his royal balcony début. Dressed in the same pale blue outfit his father wore for his first Trooping the Colour in 1984, George was absolutely adorable.

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I felt the absence of the Countess of Wessex at this event (she and the Earl were in Stockholm for the Swedish Royal wedding) but there were still a number of show stopping hats worn in this group. Did any stand out especially for you?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen’s Birthday Celebrated At Trooping the Colour

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Queen Elizabeth’s official birthday celebration, Trooping the Colour, took place this morning in London. More than 1,000 soldiers took part in this royal salute to the Queen, who eschewed her long held practice of repeating previously worn hats and surprised us with a new one!  The hat, made of the same palest peach textured wool silk as her coat, featured a square crown and gently upturned brim on one side. A flat peach silk bow adorned the side of the hat which was secured by a gold hat pin. The warm colour looked quite pretty on Her Majesty and enabled her to stand out in a sea of red uniforms.

Queen Elizabeth, June 13, 2015 in Angela Kelly | Royal Hats

Designer: Angela Kelly. Coat by Angela Kelly (previously worn for the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in May 2012)
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Duke of Edinburgh joined the Queen to preside over the military parade. A member of the Grenadier Guards (indicated by the white plume on his bearskin hat), Prince Philip wore the uniform of his his rank as Colonel.

The Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards (green and white plume), the Duke of Cambridge, who Colonel of the Irish Guards (blue plume) the Princess Royal, who is Colonel of the Blues and Royals, all rode in the ceremonial parade.

This Week’s Extras

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GreRoyal Hats

Prince Harry honoured British service personnel killed on combat operations in Afghanistan at the Bastion Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire (Forces TV)

Grand Duke Jean enjoyed the last stage of the Tour de Luxembourg last weekend (Luxarazzi)

Princess Hisako wore a new purple hat for her remarks at the Cancer Summit in Yokohama and a beautiful cream beret-pillbox hybrid for her departure en route to Sweden(Imperial Family of Japan)

The Duchess of Gloucester opened the day centre at the St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich (Royal Central)

Princess Kako repeated white bumper hat with bow trim for a visit last weekend to Akama Jinja Shrine (Getty)

Sheikha Mozah in a very chic Panama hat on her visit to Garni and Geghard in Armenia (News AM)

Sheikha Mizah, June 5, 2015

Royal Hats

King Felipe of Spain has officially stripped his sister Infanta Cristina of her title of Duchess of Palma de Majorca in light of the corruption scandal involving her and her husband. (Expatica) That must make family dinners rather awkward….

The Imperial Court announced today that Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako will visit the Kingdom of Tonga July 2-6 to attend the Coronation of HM King Tupou VI. This is a big step for the Princess, who has slowly taken on more royal engagements over the past two years.

Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist’s wedding festivities kicked off today with a formal private pre-wedding dinner (Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor). An interview with the royal couple also aired this evening on SVT. Tune in tomorrow for full coverage of their wedding!

Queen Maxima Opens Children’s Hospital

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Queen Máxima was in The Hague today to officially open the Juliana Children’s Hospital. For this event, she repeated her vivid orange folded straw headpiece and matching cotton day dress. Máxima looks fantastic in orange and the informality, lightness and sense of fun inherent in both these two pieces makes them work well together. I really like the placement of this headpiece off to one side (much better than the first time she wore it centred on her head) but wish that the metal headband securing it to her head was hidden in her hair. What perplexes me most, however, about this ensemble is the Carmen Miranda earrings. Each time she has worn this outfit, Máxima has paired it with a larger set of earrings. It’s a shame, really, as the headpiece is a fabulous statement piece which doesn’t benefit from such competition.

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by NATAN
Previously Worn: November 15, 2013; September 2, 2013

Photos from Getty as indicated