After a lacklustre millinery start to this week’s visit to Australia, Queen Máxima was back to her blazingly glamorous self today for the Melbourne Cup at Ascot Raceourse in Perth. On paper, a brown straw hat with simple embellishment reads as rather boring- something this hat is certainly not! In coffee coloured straw, the hat’s upswept ‘slice’ brim is a Máxima signature that is beautifully balanced with a simple rounded crown and monochrome grosgrain ribbon hatband that folds into a flat bow at the side. The hat’s simplicity is a perfect counterpoint to Máxima’s more elaborate beaded aqua Natan dress and the resulting ensemble is a dazzling success.

King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima kicked off their Australian visit (which will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog in Western Australia) today in sunny Perth. Queen Máxima repeated her sand and turquoise silk linen Matthijs van Bergen dress with matching folded calot hat. This is such a great dress, it’s a shame that this design resembles no more than… a dinner napkin? A head bandage? Whatever it is, I’m afraid, it is neither noteworthy nor attractive.