The York princesses met today’s bright sun and hot temperatures in a pair of cool, pastel hats. Princess Beatrice topped her exquisite ice blue floral coat dress with a sky blue boater hat covered in boucle textured fabric and trimmed with a pleated white hatband and side bow. The bright sun makes it difficult to see how the coat and hat played against each other but one thing is right- the angle Beatrice placed the hat on her head is just right. I would have loved to see a pair of pearl stud earrings to finish off the softly romantic ensemble but that’s a minor detail.
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Previously Worn: this hat is new
Princess Eugenie also topped a floral dress in a pale aqua sidesweep with short, moulded crown, trimmed with white silk blooms on both sides of the raised brim and striped pheasant feather. While I am happy to see her in another large brimmed piece, I think it’s ill matched with this too-casual cotton sundress. I’d love to see another outing for this hat but paired with a more tailored outfit.
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The Earl of Wessex wore the uniform of the Royal Colonel of The London Scottish Regiment and capt with distincitve black and white feather trim while the Duke of York wore morning dress complete with a gleaming, black silk top hat.
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Royal Hats 
A day of opposites from the Yorke’s. I really can’t stand these boaters Bea has become a fan of; they just don’t flatter her, and seem really unrelated to anything going on in fashion right now. Her coat is fab though.
As for Eugenie, I love her hat, and would like to see it restyled at Ascot, as it does not seem to talk to that dress at all.
I love the angle of Princess Beatrice’s boater, but overall I think I agree with others that it seems too small. The close up pictures show the fabric and ribbon details beautifully. Now Princess Eugenie’s hat I find marvelous! If she had paired it with another dress or coat dress I think I would be happier but I love the aqua color and the cream flowers. Prince Andrew’s silk top hat just gleamed in the sunshine and I love the feather details on Prince Edward’s bonnet. I believe that the Countess of Wessex went to a church service so she was “on duty” today. Not sure where the kids were. I’m hoping to see Lady Louise and her hat choices as she grows up to be a hat-wearing royal young lady.
The Countess of Wessex attended a Service of Hope at Southwark Cathedral on Friday.
I’m going against what seems to be popular opinion recently and say I don’t think boaters are a hat style that suit Beatrice as well as others, especially this particular one. I think it’s too twee and looks costumey, like Anne of Green Gables or something along those lines. Something with a more rounded shape I think would flatter her much more than the severity of a boater.
As for Eugenie, I really like this one, and the pale aqua is a great color for her. We all know how much I love pheasant feathers and the addition of one on this hat makes me love this more, but I will admit the placement of the feather across the floral trim is a bit odd; I would’ve preferred it to sweep around more. I’m not as bothered by this dress as some others are, but I wish there was more of the aqua in it to help tie the hat to the outfit better (if the dress was just plain white it might work better, but the intricate designs are distracting for me).
Very strange that Sophie was not there, so I wonder if she suddenly got sick (or the children did, or all of them did!). Sad to not see them.
I agree about boaters being tricky for Beatrice. The challenge for the milliner is to complement 28- year-old Beatrice’s naturally youthful and dramatic “Disney princess” features – large expressive eyes and a dazzling open smile – without creating a schoolgirl look. This boater, in addition to being too demure and constrained for her features and personality (it would suit the Japanese royal code of dress just fine), also seems too wide in the crown, looking as if it is about to slip off, especially when viewed from her left. I think the hat seems to be lifting up because of the knot of hair underneath it. If only she’d had a hairstylist who would work with the hat!
On the other hand, Eugenie’s hat is perfectly seated and angled and looks great on her. Not sure from these views about the unusual placement of the feather, but I do like the way the feather’s darker colour picks up her hair colour. I do hope we’ll see this hat again soon.
Every time I see Bea in these boaters for some reason I think of the film Picnic at Hanging Rock. This hat looks too large in the crown and too small in the brim.
Bea’s hat looks too small. More height and a wider brim might have been better, although the color is lovely with her outfit.
I do like Eugenie’s hat, but not with this dress as HQ said. That dress is way too casual. I was quite surprised to see her wearing that today. For Beatrice, I feel the opposite. The coat is gorgeous! But the hat seems too small to do the coat justice.
Hmmm… I wish we could see a clear photo of Beatrice standing up. I have a hunch that the coat with the textured boater at that lovely angle is a great combination.
I looked at Princess Bea on the balcony after I read your comment. She isn’t clear from head to toe, so it is hard to get the complete picture, but from what I could see it still looked on the small side to me. But the angle is right on and so is the color and texture. Maybe, I am Just not a fan of boater-style hats.
I love Bea in a boater! Eugenie’s hat was beautiful but I’m not sure it needed the feather. She paired it with a dress that was far too casual – even if it had short sleeves that would have been an improvement. I hope to see her wearing this hat again soon with something more appropriate.