to twenty-six years ago tomorrow when Queen Elizabeth wore this sharply striped purple straw boater hat during a state visit to the USA.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Photo from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats
The Bold, Beautiful and Bizarre World of Royal Millinery
Royal Hats 
PLEASE watch the first 3 minutes of this charming video. HM has a delightful sense of humo(u)r!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful ladies who are celebrating today! Since my own mom died 3 years ago, I have adopted my 91 year old church friend who grew up in Leichester – a VERY sweet lady!
I love the idea, but the horizontal white stripes on that extra large circumference make the hat look much too big for the queen. The color is lovely though.
Goodness! The “talking hat” seems so recent in so many ways. I rather like it and have fond memories of the occasion (on television).
I like this hat – on the right person. To me this is such a Princess Diana look – the boater, the stripes, the piped suit – that it’s a bit odd to see someone so very different in appearance sporting it. Diana of course was significantly taller than HM, so wide/oversized hats suited her well. And strong, statement, high-contrast striping, like the white/purple we see here, was balanced by Diana’s strong eye makeup and young features. But for someone like HM, it’s rather harsh.
Is it really that wide, or is it just the horizontal stripes? And it’s odd that the purples don’t match.
I once had the immense pleasure of seeing a “talking hat” in action, when my daughter graduated from university. The guest speaker, who had recieved an honourary doctorate, was wearing a Tudor bonnet. She was about five feet tall and the lectern was made for a much taller person. My mother leaned over and said “It’s another talking hat!” Thanks for the memory Hat Queen. This purple and white hat makes me think of Princess Beatrix.
Ah the talking hat! I thought this was rather snazzy at the time, and the years have been kind, it would work now (perhaps with a reduction in size). It was definitely one of her better ones from her style hinterland; a hint of the much better millinery to come I think…
Is this the Talking Hat, due to the lectern being set for six foot something President Bush rather than five feet nothing HM ?