Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Dunstable today where they visited Priory View, an independent living scheme for older residents, and opened the new Centre for Elephant Care at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. For these events, the Queen repeated her beautifully proportioned lilac-grey straw hat with gently sloped crown and raised brim, trimmed with handmade straw roses (or camellias?!) and bow loops.
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While I usually prefer more saturated colour on Her Majesty, the gentle shape of this piece and the wonderful trim makes it a winner for me. I particularly adore the straw roses, which are simply exquisite.
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: July 1, 2016; October 20, 2015
The Queen’s hat today, however, might have been overshadowed by her new friend.
Such fun! Any new thoughts about this hat today on its third outing?
Royal Hats 
HM looks fantastic….looks so bright and happy. I think this lovely soft coloured outfit is just perfect. I especially like this hat.
If the hats been out three times she must really love it! How wonderful. She looks beautiful
While I love the soft colors of this outfit including the wonderful two tone shades of the hat I have to offer a dissenting view of the loops and straw roses. To me they seem to heavy sitting at the front. That small quibble being said HM looks fantastic!!!
Very Pretty. Love the hat and coat– perfect duo.
Lovely hat, flowers, color, size and shape. I think the loops help to balance the slanted shape — so well done. Beautiful coat as well. HM looks wonderful. There does seem to be a crease or a structural hoop? showing through the crown of the hat, but it doesn’t bother me as the overall impression is so good. I would probably like the back seam put under the flowers too, just to be picky. Maybe the hat is made before the trim is added? or do they have a complete plan before they start?
Love this whole outfit. I think HM looks really good in this kind of soft muted colors.
Love the hat except for that seam at the back of the hat
A thrilling outfit, indeed. Rachel & Stewart know how to do things right! PERFECT!
Tre lovely on HM – I really like this shade on her.
I particularly like the two-toned brim. I’ll bet your right that there are different colors for the weft and the warp. While the straw roses are beautiful, I’m not so entranced by the loops, but I think most of her hats are designed to make the Queen look as tall as possible. This coat is particularly effective since it allows so much of the dress to show through.
I like this for the same reasons as HQ. It’s always a plus when the light shines through the brim to spotlight HM’s face.
Fantastic hat that goes wonderfully with her dress and coat. Well done, Your Majesty!
Perfect ensemble is every sense of the word.
One of her prettiest hats! I love everything about this hat..workmanship, size, color. The outfit, too.
This is still a fantastic outfit, and it’s great to see it getting so many outings, hope that continues. The straw flower is beautifully constructed and the proportions just right.
When it was first worn I was convinced that the brim was grey, but you weren’t sure Hat Queen and thought it was the light shining through it. I’m still sure it is, it looks decidedly grey in these pictures – what do you think?
You’ll notice I described this as “lilac-grey”?! Looking at the photo of the back view- the brim looks grey on the bottom and lilac on top. This makes me suspect the weft of this weave of straw is grey while the warp is lilac, making it appear both colours depending on the angle you view it from. I think this might be a straw that appears to change colour from different angles and in different light.
Oh I see yes, I missed that. I’m still unsure about it – it does do an odd kind of colour change depending on the light doesn’t it. Anyway, still a winner!
Odd yes, but also very interesting. Any hat that draws us in for a closer view is a memorable one in my books.
What an astonishing coincidence: This hat today made its debut for the Chinese president’s visit on October 20, 2015, and was later worn as HM visited and fed an elephant. Go back 31 years, to October 15, 1986, when the queen visited Shanghai, China, where a wonderful gold and navy ensemble (Ian Thomas) was introduced.
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Then, in June of 1987, HM meets and feeds an elephant in London’s Hyde Park. Notice how the pachyderm went “bananas” over HM’s yellow hat!
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How funny! HM is really “into” feeing this elephant his/her banana!
Your memory astonishes me, Jimbo. What great connections to these past hats! I’m not sure I need to do “Flashback” hats from the past any more- you’ve got it covered!
What a beautiful hat. Perfect workmanship in the roses.
The Queen looks like the breath of spring; love the whole look
A beautiful hat for HM! It’s interesting how the top of the brim is more grey in color, while the rest of the hat is definitely lavender (you can see this in photos from previous outings, so I doubt it’s a lighting issue); I wonder if it’s supposed to draw out the grey in her coat? Also, I wonder why virtually all of HM’s hats seem to be created with many pieces put together, instead of one large piece of material (whether it’s fur felt or parasisal) blocked over a particular shape? A seam is clearly seen in the one photo, which is really odd on a straw hat. Any thoughts on this?
I really love this hat.