Ten years ago today, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary brought their three month old son to be christened at Christiansborg Palace Chapel.
While it was widely expected that the wee prince’s name would follow the Danish royal tradition of alternating between the names Christian and Frederick for males in direct line to the throne, his name was not announced (as per another Danish royal tradition) until the christening ceremony. As such, royal watchers around the world tuned in to the christening to see what the little prince’s name would be. Prince Christian Valdemar Henri John did not disappoint, cooing to his mother during the service and crying heartily during the act of baptism. He was dressed in the same lace christening gown and cap used for Danish royal christenings since it was made for Christian X in 1870.
Crown Princess Marty topped her Hugo Boss silk dress and blue jacket with a bandeau headpiece of cream silk flowers by Malene Birger (she would later repeat for the christenings of her other children). It’s a lovely design with a shape not only perfect for a christening (no brim to block view of the baby!) but that’s very flattering and wearable. What’s off here for me is the styling – the light headpiece feels off balance with the jacket and skirt, which I think would have paired better with a cocktail hat in a solid colour. That being said, it’s a lovely headpiece that contrasts beautifully against Mary’s dark hair and added a delicate softness for this very personal event.
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Queen Margrethe wore a royal blue felt hat with rounded crown and asymmetrical upturned brim. The hat was trimmed in bias piping cut from the same fabric as her striped suit and a spray of soaring royal blue feathers. The scale of the hat was wonderful on Margrethe and the bright colour balanced her dark suit very well.
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It was no surprise that Frederik and Mary turned to royal cousins for Prince Christian’s godparents. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway wore a simple burgundy silk headband tied at the side.
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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore a simple hat in cafe au lait coloured straw with a rounded crown and upturned brim.
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Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Prince Joachim of Denmark were also included as godparents.
Royal Hats 
Prince Christian’s lace christening gown and cap is my favorite of this bunch, and the cap is in remarkably good condition, considering it was made in 1870! Crown Princess Mary’s headpiece is stunning, and goes well with the christening robes, but it doesn’t match her outfit. Queen Margrethe’s brimmed royal blue felt hat suited her perfectly and I think she should wear wide brimmed hats more often, and I hope she repeats this one, as it’s still fashionable today. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s cafe au lait straw hat was such an unusual color and suited her very well. This hat deserves a repeat wearing. I didn’t care much for the rest of this bunch.
I agree with what TiarasRUs says: January 24, 2016 at 6:42 pm.
I think Crown Princess Mary planned her head piece around the christening gown. It matches beautifully. Of the other hats, I especially like Queen Margarethe’s blue hat and Crown Princess Victoria’s brown straw hat. The winner for me is Susan Moody’s red hat! It’s very stylish, a bold color and the crown is so unexpected with that style. Nice!
I believe this is truly the most flattering hat I have seen Queen Margrethe wear. Apparently a wide brim suits her better than the brimless or short brimmed hats she chooses more often. Since she usually has her hair styled in a tight bun when wearing a hat, the brim adds some much needed softness.
This is quite the best hat, and outfit, I’ve seen Queen Margarethe wear. Crown Princess Victoria and Jane Stephens look good too. As someone else said, bring back the brims!
Princess Mary’s hat was very pretty, especially with the christening gown. Her outfit was all wrong! A pretty creme suit, or even a creme dress and jacket, would have been lovely on her against her dark hair.
My favorite hat here is wee Christian’s hat! It is adoreable. I have not seen a cap associated with a christening gown with the BRF and the SRF. Neither did the twins of Monaco have caps. I thought this cap was very sweet.
The Monaco twins did have caps (Dior ones!) but when they were taken off during the service, they were not put back on. You can see them in photos here when they arrived.
Thank you. I am rather new to this blog and had not seen the arrival picture of the Monaco twins. I did like those hats also, but not as much as Prince Christian’s handed down through the ages lace cap. 😉
I think Mary looked very nice, but I’ve never been a big fan of these floral headpieces; I think it’s interesting how it echoes the lace of the christening gown.
Wow, Margarethe, please bring this whole outfit out of hiding! This is one of the best hats I’ve ever seen her in!
Susan’s hat is a nice color and appropriate for the occasion, but I found it boring in comparison to the others unfortunately. She gets bonus points for the great matching gloves though!
For a headband, I really love the maroon color against Mette-Marit’s blonde hair! I do think she can pull off headbands well, and this outing proves it.
Victoria’s hat is very early-mid 2000s in its design, but maintains a more timeless look than some of that era.
I like the contrasting hatband on Jane’s hat to make it a bit more exciting, and while I certainly love a jaunty angle, I think’s too severe here.
All the hats are wonderful. The hair ribbon is not befitting to this occasion. And Fred looks like he’s 12 – so cute!
It’s sad to think that this pretty headband on Mette Marit’s would lead to a trend. She looks so young and pretty here but her hat wearing has been a disappointment 😦
I’ll have to check back but I think you’re right that this piece marked Princess Mette-Marit’s entry into the headband era.
I love the scale, color, shape, and rakish angle of Jane Stephens’ hat. All the hats, though, have aged well. Not a single “What was she thinking?!” in the bunch. I hope we soon see a trend for larger-scale, brimmed hats again.
Queen Margrethe’s blue hat and suit are fabulous. I actually think that this hat is her best. I hope she wears it again.
My next favorite is Jane Stephens hat, great color and shape.Thank you HatQueen for posting all this. I realize it is hard work.
It is one of Queen Margrethe’s best hats in recent memory, isn’t it?
And, you’re most welcome.
With the exception if Mette Marit and her twee ribbon, I like all of these hats. I especially like CP Victoria’s hat which is so chic. I think Mary’s headpiece is quite lovely and really was a lovely idea to wear the same hat to the christenings of all of her children.