On Wednesday, Princess Alexandra visited the 3rd Battalion The Rifles, a Light Mechanised Infantry battalion based in Edinburgh who were tasked this year with mounting the Royal Guard at Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle during Holyrood Week. For this visit, she repeated her pale natural straw hat with high, pork pie shaped crown and cartwheel brim, trimmed with a silk rose, widely woven white net tulle and a wide white hatband which finishes in a flat bow at the front. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this design at closeup range and the photo below shows a subtle diagonal pattern woven in the straw of this piece, visible on the straight sides of the tall crown. This is a lovely detail I’ve not noticed before.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: July 15, 2015; May 28, 2015; July 11, 2014; July 6, 2009; July 9, 1999; this unknown date and this unknown date
Previously Worn: July 15, 2015; May 28, 2015; July 11, 2014; July 6, 2009; July 9, 1999; this unknown date and this unknown date
We usually see Alexandra pair this blue suit with a matching blue hat but I thought this straw design made an alternately great pairing. What do you think of this hat?
Photos from Craig Hayes/3 Rifles
Royal Hats 
Good summertime choice! Lovely as always…
It is a lovely hat, but actually I think the height of the crown, plus the squareness of the bow, make it look surprisingly clunky from the front. It overwhelms her a little.
Love the way she mixes things up! This is my favorite outfit with this hat. I like the hat better at an angle or with the bow in he back.
It looks beautiful on her. Great choice.
Charming.
I like the way Princess Alexandra wears her hats with different outfits and in various ways: backwards, tilted sideways, tilted back, flat, straight on, turned a bit to the side… This is an all purpose hat. I like it best tipped back slightly with the flower towards the side.
Ruthtoo I’m also impressed with the different ways Alexandra wears this flattering and versatile hat. It’s interesting how the 2 colours in the hat break up what might otherwise be a heavy appearance; while the netting softens the symmetry of the crown. I like the hat best when worn with the flower at the back.
Quite a beautiful hat. Would love to see it sans the bow.
A very lovely hat that looks great on Alexandra. I do like it with the blue suit. I wonder what it would have looked like to have a cream colored pair of gloves of the same shade as the hat? A very elegant royal lady!!
Quite the right hat for summertime – really like this on her
This choice of hat with this choice of outfit was an excellent decision to make! The combo gives enough contrast, but still compliments each other. Definitely one of the most successful outings of this hat. Also, with the way she has done her hair, Alexandra looks a lot like Quentin Bryce, the former Governor General of Australia.
Very true, in this instance Alexandra does indeed remind me of Quentin Bryce.