King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrived in Berlin yesterday to begin a state visit to Germany. Not surprisingly, Queen Silvia used the occasion to debut a new hat. In camel coloured felt, the design features a rounded cloche style crown and wide brim, raised on one side and edged with a wide black stripe. The black stripe gives a great punch of contrast to the hat and I particularly like the dimension provided by rows of camel stitching on it. While worn a little lower on Silvia’s head than I would prefer, my main quibble about this hat is its pairing with this grey coat and dress. Mixing neutrals can work well but in this instance, I’m not such a fan.
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Previously Worn: This hat is new
Royal Hats 
I love the hat but would have been much better if the coat was a similar colour. I have great admiration for queen Sylvia, she is so compassionate and honest and extremely intelligent. Sweden is very fortunate to have such a queen.
This is an excellent hat for Silvia, and I’m so glad to see something brimmed on her head again! The shape of this brim is very flattering, and I like the stitched black and camel detailing. I only wish there had been a black hatband, because when you can see the base of the crown, the hat looks kinda naked, almost unfinished, to me; but that’s a small, small complaint. Not as thrilled about pairing this with a grey coat, but it could be a lot worse! I do hope we get to see this hat again!
As for Daniela Schadt’s hat, it’s a repeat from the Belgian royal visit earlier in March this year (https://royalhats.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/belgian-monarchs-welcome-german-state-visit/), and interestingly enough looks to be a reworked version of the hat she worn during the British royal visit in June 2015 (http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-president-joachim-gauck-and-his-partner-daniela-news-photo/478259606?#german-president-joachim-gauck-and-his-partner-daniela-schadt-greet-picture-id478259606). Still a good choice for her.
Interesting to see Ms Schadt’s hat in several outings – thanks for the research Jake.
For me this latest wearing is the best; those red coat/dress outfits worn previously seem too overpowering for this very light hat.
Aside from the color issues (which I agree are probably much better in person) I think this whole thing looks fabulous, and a little bit of a departure for Silvia, which is nice. Want this hat for myself!
As the revered ChicagoChuck and others have noted, the key to this ensemble seems to be the belt on the dress, which matches the hat banding and ties everything together. In the few photos where the belt is visible, everything makes more sense. It is unfortunate the coat front is closed in so many of the photos, so this detail (and it’s harmonizing effect) is lost. More typical of Queen Silvia would have been a smaller pillbox or calot in the same ensemble fabric — So, points for surprising us!
Given the busy woven patterning of the coat and dress, the very simple hat is welcome, but somehow all together, at least in the photos, it’s a near miss — so very close, but not quite there. MrFitzroy agrees that in person the coat/dress may read as more camel than salt&pepper, which would also make sense in regards to the other choices.
Still, all quarrels aside, Queen Silvia looks marvelous!
Overall not bad. The colour on the hat might be a dark chocolate, not black.
The hat is too heavy for her, and it looks unfinished, with that great camel desert.
Very, very nice!
I love it!! It’s okay with the coat, but I look forward to seeing it paired with other outfits. I’d like to see it atop a black outfit.
I love Silvia’s entire outfit! The underside of the hat’s brim is a nice unique touch and brings the outfit together. I like it with this outfit and would have to see it with other things to know if it’s going to be able to work with anything else.
Kudos to QSilvia on a LOVELY hat and outfit! From head to toe, she looks perfect!
I like this hat with the coat – the only thing I would change is to lower the crown on it just a tad
I love this whole look. The fabric and design of the coat are lovely and the hat goes well with it. My first thought was how great the Queen looked. My second thought was that the hat might be a tad big. But it’s a fresh, more modern look than she usually wears. And overall Queen Silvia looks elegant and stylish in this new, well coordinated outfit.
The hat does pick up the camel in the coat, but I am with those who’d like to see it paired with black. How about some mother-daughter sharing, though? This would be spectacular on CP Victoria!
I really like Mrs. Schad’s hat, too.
I think Crown Princess Victoria would look amazing in this hat too!
I think the hat is perfect with the coat and dress, especially with the belt matching the band on the hat. I think the issue is viewing it from a distance. You lose all the colors in her clothes.
Adore Silvia’s hat, and adore the coat/dress ensemble, though not together. The coat/dress really suits the queen – I would love to see her wear it with black shoes, black handbag and black hat. I hope we see her more often in coat/dress ensembles, and less often in skirt suits.
Daniela Schadt’s hat appeals to me even more than the queen’s. Does anyone know the designer?
Photography seems to be everything in terms of the queen’s success with this ensemble: as has been remarked, her coat seems in some photos to be more brown than gray. The belt which matches the hat band is a lovely and harmonizing touch. (I suspect the clutch harmonizes well when seen in person too). I love the hat, with its dramatic contrasts and elegant style; the shape of the brim suits the queen perfectly. Altogether, I think this costume is one of the most flattering worn by Queen Silvia that I can remember–and she looks, as someone else remarked, utterly smashing.
I love the whole ensemble. We don’t often see Queen Silvia in neutrals. She looks chic and elegant.
Love the hat, love the outfit, love the accessories, and LOVE the string of multi-colored pearls (note that there are white, black, and golden pearls). Also note, those of you who don’t like the coat/dress with this hat, the dress has a belt that is black with the same camel stitching as the underside of the brim of the hat. And in certain photos it is very evident that the coat/dress is more camel than gray. She looks smashing!
Now, for Angela Merkel. God bless that woman, she is one of the most accomplished and respected leaders of a European country but she does not play in the fashion aisle. But you gotta love her for staying true to herself.
Love the rakish angle she wore her hat!
I like the hat of the girlfriend/partner of the German president
I like the whole outfit, the coat looks as though it has a subtle camel colour within the pattern. very chic.
I like the hat but I find it a tad too big, sitting to low on her head. She is a rather short person and in one picture I saw she really had to tilt her head back in order to look at Mrs Schadt
The hat is wonderful. I like the shape and it looks really good on her, but the coat….
It’s an interesting hat but yes, the pairing with that coat isn’t really working. I’m surprised how much I like Mrs Schadt’s hat, very unusual color combination but it does work.
I love this hat!!! Love it. It is different enough to be interesting and yet not too much.
Still, I agree with you about the pairing with this coat. A coat in the same camel colour or in black would be fantastic.
Our daily newspaper carried a photo of Queen Silvia today to mark the occasion of the state visit and “not with this coat” was my first thought when I saw it. And not with this clutch which seems to be in yet another shade of sandy beige and doesn’t go with either coat or hat. I like the hat itself, so hopefully we will one day see it paired more suitably.