After reviewing the hats and headpieces worn by Princess Sofia and members of the Swedish royal family to Prince Alexander’s christening last Friday, it’s now time to turn our attention to those worn by extended family and royal guests. The only foreign royal guests at this event were Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula of Bavaria (Prince Leopold is Prince Carl Philip’s godfather). Princess Ursula followed the trend set by the Swedish royal family, opting for a triple silk bow fascinator with cascade of feathers in pale sky blue. The headpiece is fun but its whimsical feel was at odds with her more streamlined and formal coat. I really like both pieces… but not together.
The Haga princesses were represented by Princess Margaretha, who did not wear a hat. Frida Bergström, partner of Princess Christina’s son Victor Magnusson who was named as one of Prince Alexander’s godparents, was one of just two members of the extended Swedish royal family to wear a full-on hat. In pale oyster grey straw, the large saucer hat features a gently sloped pyramid at the crown that extends to a slight point on the bottom brim; the hat is simply trimmed with a straw double bow with centre knot embellished with crystals. The scale of this piece works well on Friday and while the colour is not best for her, I like the hat simply because it stands out amidst all the other headbands and fascinators at this event.
Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg repeated the silk flower and arrow trimmed gold feather headpiece she wore to King Carl Gustaf’s 70th birthday celebrations on April 30. Mrs. Dagmar von Arbin (granddaughter of Prince Oscar Bernadotte) who at 100 years old is currently the eldest member of the Swedish royal family, topped her coral suit with a small black silk bow and net fascinator.
Countess Jill Bernadotte (wife of Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg) topped her honeycomb suit with a natty navy straw hat trimmed in feathers. The shape of this piece is a little unusual but it works with Jill’s short hairstyle and fits well with the informality of this event.
Several members of Queen Silvia’s extended family were also in attendance. Bettina Aussems (wife of Silvia’s nephew Thomas Sommerlath) wore one of my favourite pieces of millinery at this event. Built on a base of transparent black straw, this cocktail hat is all about its central mass of striped feathers. The overall flower shape of the piece is so lovely and the gentle sense of movement provided by the swaying feathers (which were beautifully caught by even the slightest breeze) made me smile. I think this is a great example of how to do a hat at an informal event… and the royals could take note!
The other Sommerlath family members in attendance were Queen Silvia’s nephew Patrick, his wife Maline and their family. Maline wore a simple navy fascinator attached to a headband while the couple’s twin daughters Chloe and Anais wore darling floral trimmed headbands.
Royal Hats 
I have a feeling that since these guests aren’t normally in the public eye, they don’t wear hats very often, and because of that, they bring their A game when they do.
I see a lot of fascinator hate on here, and while occasionally it’s justified, I don’t think a lot of fascinators are bad. Princess Ursula’s fascinator is an example of a good fascinator, and the color is really great for her too. I’m still undecided if I like it paired with this outfit or not.
Frida Bergström definitely had the best hat/fascinator/headpiece of the day, but her wrap seemed a bit messy. She should’ve taken a cue from Lady Gabriella and worn a bolero jacket similar to this outfit: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/19/article-0-0202565700000578-197_468x731.jpg.
Countess Marianne and Dagmar both looked sophisticated and appropriate for the occasion, but nothing that wowed me (except Dagmar still getting around so well at 100!).
I wonder what Countess Jill’s hat would look like if it was tilted a little more forward on her head. At any rate, it looks to be a good piece for her.
Bettina and Maline both looked very nice, and it’s nice to see the non-royal family members at this event represented on here.
I was tough on many of the fascinators at this event- I think a lot of them weren’t paired well with the outfits they were worn with. Princess Ursula’s piece, for example, is really great but it just feels so at odds with the heavy, winery jacket it was paired with. Bettina’s works so well with her dress (and her hairstyle) and shows how a puff of feathers on one’s head can be strikingly attractive!
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply any specific blame at you HatQueen! I was just making a general statement concerning the anti-fascinator comments being made on here. Granted, I don’t even know if many of the pieces worn to this particular event should even bear the name fascinator since there is so little to them to begin with. I just wanted to say I think fascinators have a place and many of them can look good, but I agree that full on hats are usually much better.
No blame received! You made some great points that helped me explore my reservations about many of the headpieces/fascinators at this event. I certainly have been giving fascinators a hard time- sometimes fairly and perhaps, sometimes not. You’ll note in the newest post about the opening of Swedish Parliament, my favourite hat/headpiece of the day is a fascinator!
I get what you’re saying but it’s not like these people have a huge closet of hats to choose from. I doubt most of them go out and buy a new one either. So good on all of them for looking so great.
I LOVE Ursula’s blue fascinator. It’s so cute but I agree it needs to be with a summer dress not a winter coat.
Frida’s hat is fine but I don’t like the grey hat with the beige wrap. Choose a netural and stick to it. Her pink dress is great.
The older ladies look great. Kudos to them for the way they keep truckin’ to these events.
I’m sorry but Jill’s hat looks like a folded paper boat stuck on her head. Wrong shape or angle on her head or something.
LOVE Bettina’s hat and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that it’s a hand me down from Victoria. What can I do to get on that hand me down chain?!
My picks:
Frida Bergstrom: Too bad about the support act of hairstyle and rest-of-outfit — this simple hat is otherwise lovely.
Countess Marianne: A tried-and-true, no-surprises-here, New Romantic look, in the spirit of Camilla DOC — which wins a vote for great execution. The Countess has chosen a flattering pastel colour and isn’t afraid to carry it through the ensemble, even to the colour of the pearls.The flower headpiece fits in seamlessly, and is large enough to make an impact.
Countess Jill’s hat looks interesting, and worth closer inspection.
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I love Frida’ s hat and Jill’s hat and the flower. Extended family did better than family.
I forgot to share that formal portraits of the christening were released today. You can see them here– just click on each photo to enlarge for a better view of the headpieces.
On “princessesblog76” I saw the hat Victoria wore in 2008 and I think it looks very much like the one Bettina Aussems wore. What do you think ?
Great catch! I think we have some cousin hat sharing here!
I like Countess Jill’s little ‘dish’ on her head — I think it’s time to formally retire ALL facinators!
Sorry, beachgal but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon. I live in a town with a throughbred horse racetrack and I noticed this year that hardly anyone (aside from me–of course!) wore a proper hat this season. It was practically all fascinators or bare heads, which I find truly sad.
Yes… but in North America where hat wearing is completely lost for the general population, a fascinator is still a major piece of millinery for most people. Speaking from personal experience, I think it takes more bravery to wear a fascinator than a hat!
Countess Jill Bernadotte – outstanding. The little girls’ floral headbands are so sweet.