The religious wedding service of Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lueneburg, and Ekaterina Malysheva was celebrated today at Hanover Market Church in Hanover, Germany.
The bride wore an intricately beaded gown and veil from young Lebanese designer, Sandra Mansour. According to the designer, the gown is “inspired by Russia, her (the bride’s) native land, entirely embroidered with the wire and the hand. Chantilly lace and sublimated by beaded details, this required the work of the embroiderers of the Mansour workshops for more than three and a half months.” The gown follows a traditional silhouette with squared sweetheart neckline, long, leg o’mutton sleeves, fitted bodice, and full, ballgown skirt that swept into a substantial train.
Ekaterina anchored her embroidered silk and lace veil with the Hanovarian Floral Tiara, a substantial piece in a floral motif that has presumably been in the groom’s family for generations.
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The wedding was, not surprisingly, attended by members of the Casiraghi family. Tatiana Santo Domingo wore a large cream straw picture hat with gently upswept brim, trimmed with a blush pink ruched silk hatband. The off-centre peak on the crown of this piece is a shape Philip Treacy has widely used in his collections the past two years, making me suspect the design is from him. It’s a wonderfully romantic hat that Tatiana wears well.
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Embed from Getty ImagesAs shown in the photo above, Princess Alexandra (who is half sister to the groom), did not wear a hat. Charlotte Casiraghi wore a Garbo variation with floppy brim. A Garbo hat would be such a great shape for her fantastic coat but the proportions of this one, with a too short brim that is attached awkwardly low on the crown, emphasising its round shape, is simply off.
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Beatrice Borromeo topped her pale green floral dress in a rosy-beige headpiece of braided straw by Marta Ferri . The design is an interesting concept but the colour isn’t particularly flattering on Beatrice and I’m at a loss to see how it relates to the rest of her ensemble. The design also has an open crown, which makes it a tough sell for me.
The wedding was also attended by numerous members of German royal houses. Princess Sophie of Prussia wore a grey cocktail hat with moulded straw base, embellished with a large, silk cabbage rose in the same hue. The neutral hat and other grey accessories are a beautiful counterpoint to her vibrant magenta dress.
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Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis wore a calot hat covered in layered burgundy feathers. The Margravine of Baden (née Archduchess Valerie of Austria, who is married to Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, head of the Grand-Ducal House of Baden and nephew of the Duke of Edinburgh), topped her navy silk dress with a wide brimmed hat in orchid purple straw with a ruched hatband and large front bow.
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And finally, Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe attended with his partner, Mahkameh Navabi, who wore a large navy straw hat with crin edged brim, trimmed with a side bow.
Royal Hats 
Men often don’t have hips (at least, not as part of their body shape) and I think that’s the problem with the groom here. A belt would have solved it. The wedding dress is rather lovely and the bride looks very sweet in it, but the dress wouldn’t work for everyone and is, truth be told, a little too lacy for my taste but I can appreciate it on her. My issue with the bride is the tiara. I think the top looks ‘bent’ backwards because she’s wearing it on the wrong angle. A photo of P Caroline wearing it shows it off much better because she’s placed it quite differently on her head.
The guests are a mixed bag, aren’t they, but all fun. The only real itch I want to scratch is Charlotte’s hat. The ‘flop’ is too constructed, the brim not big enough and it’s placed too hard on her head. Imagine this outfit with a hat like Mahkameh’s and it all starts to change.
Beatrice’s hat is interesting close up with its texture and weaving. I don’t hate it and I love her hair with it. The pink belt may be doing more damage to the lovely dress.
I do not get the love that people heap upon Beatrice B. If QMaxima had worn that “hat”, people would have been completely up in arms. What she wore was HORRIBLE and most suitable as aid to clean one’s shower. Proper undergarments would have helped the dress.
I did like Tatiana’s hat and her dress. She’s probably the best of the lot. Runner-up went to the Margravine.
Re: “What a motley crew!”, KathyT, I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who had that thought!
This wedding has brought out the negative comments…..and here are some more
Bride: good: dress, veil, bouquet bad: hair
Tatiana: the hat is big, the dress is big…the size of the hat would have looked better with a sleeker dress
Charlotte: I like her garbo look and at least she is color coordinated
Beatrice: I like the hat, to me it goes with the dress and with her hair color it blends, in a different color and we would have had a sweatband look
Sophie: her hat is way too small… this dress needs a picture hat
Elisabeth: How many ways can you say WRONG!
Margravine: the bow on this hat is way too big and the pink color is too much of a contrast for her dress
Makameh: like the hat but not the dress…sleeves please!
Sometimes I think…so much money and this is what they choose????
Money does not equal taste. I have no money, but by golly, I have taste!
When I saw the Duchess of Gloucester recently in that ‘eighties headband hat https://royalhats.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/hat-from-the-past-125/ I commented that the hairstyle was the problem, not the hat, and that I would like to see this style worn today. Little did I know that only weeks later, Beatrice Borromeo would oblige!
And just as I suspected, this style, when executed as skilfully as on this occasion, looks amazing. As a bonus, Beatrice’s hairstyle and earrings are perfect complements, the whole look being delightfully reminiscent, not of disco fever, but of C18th turquerie. So even though the dress doesn’t relate at all to the hat, I am confirmed yet again in my admiration for this woman’s style. The other hats worn on this occasion barely register for me, in the light of this gorgeous piece.
mcncln, I thought of the DoG’s ’80s headpiece, too! I’ll buy your 18th century turquerie explanation, but it’s still heavy and just plain odd, with no connection to the dress,
It was indeed a mixed bag, with Princess Sophie and the Margravine of Baden coming up with both the best hats and the most wedding-appropriate attire.
it’s … well…. that’s all
A rare miss for Beatrice. The color is not an issue for me, just that huge braid! Not my taste. Charlotte -no! It is summer time! Please! Tatiana-not bad, though I would like more color! Princess Sophie-yes! The Baden lady-yes to the hat, the dress is pretty dark. The partner to Prince Alexander-great hat and I am not sure how that dress stayed on her body. Elizabeth-hot mess right down to the shoes.
I like Tatiana’s hat and agree that it’s mostly likely a Philip Treacy creation. What I don’t like is her dress; it looks like she dug it out of the 1980s, and I think it ages her in a negative way.
A hat or cocktail hat in steel grey would’ve been a much better choice for Charlotte (This Louise Green hat would be an excellent substitute: https://www.louisegreen.com/collections/spring-summer-2017/products/0702drsp_gun-slv), or a completely different color, like crimson or purple. The hat she wore is much too hot for July (felt, seriously?) and the floppy brim is not flattering on her.
I love everything Beatrice wore except for her odd headpiece/circlet. I think a simple cocktail hat (like this Rosie Olivia one: http://www.rosieoliviamillinery.com/London-Hat-Designer/London-Milliner/collection/tomis) in plain sage green to match her dress or plain blush pink to match her belt would’ve been more successful.
Out of all these royals, I think Sophie von Preußen was the best dressed guest. Her color coordination is fantastic and I think she looks great in this cocktail percher hat; my only complaint (and it’s very minor!) is I wish it was sitting a little more forward on her head.
Elizabeth von Thurn und Taxis looked rather messy in my opinion, with the unkempt hair paired with an outfit on pattern and color overload; while I love color and pattern mixing, I think this is just uncoordinated.
In contrast, Margravine Valerie looks amazing in this hat and knows how to color block very well.
Finally, while I really like Mahkameh Navabi’s portrait hat and think it is very flattering for her, her choice of outfit was all wrong for the occasion and this hat; something with actually shoulders would’ve framed everything much better (the hat reads very daytime, and the dress reads very after dark, and they don’t go well together).
Overall it was a mixed bag, with a lot of things I liked, and a lot of things I didn’t. But regardless, it’s nice to see some lesser royals out and about in hats!
Regarding the color of Beatrice Borromeo’s hat not matching her dress, this may be a case of the tint of the photography or the color interpretation of our own monitors rather than Beatrice’s taste in hats — I do notice that all of the photos of her are credited to the same photographer. Here are some other photos of the same wedding
http://www.newmyroyals.com/2017/07/religious-wedding-of-prince-ernst.html
where the hat (to me at least) looks a little more like it matches the pinkish color of the dress’s belt and decorations. There is also a back view of the hat.
p.s. Caroline of Monaco/Hanover’s sons looked good too!
The Bride looked stunning, but what was the deal with the Bridegroom? Did he need to wear Braces to hitch up his trousers, or pay to have them shortened… Princess Sophie looked lovely, gorgeous colour combo, her husband’s trousers needed attending too as well.
The rest were awful!
Of my soapbox now, enjoy your Sunday everyone = )
It’s all such a mess – from the “dragged through a ditch” look of the bridegroom, Beatrice wearing something borrowed from Princess Michael of Kent on her head, Charlotte read the invite wrong and thought she was going to a funeral (her Mary Jane shoes need to be confiscated and she needs to be taught how to hold a handbag). Tatiana looks the best she’s ever look although I don’t like outfit and the hat jars with the outfit.
Why has Beatrice Borromeo given up on bras recently? As far as I can tell she hasn’t worn one since the
baby was born. She’s also wearing a bad hat.
Heaven only knows. It reminds me of Astrid of Belgium at her son’s wedding in Italy a few years ago, a perfectly lovely Chanel outfit ruined by the lack of a bra. The side view of the hat in the pictures above makes me howl – what possessed her? What kind of mirrors are they using? Part of life’s unanswerable mysteries I think.
Since conversation about royal undergarments will always be guesswork, let’s keep the conversation on the hats!
My apologies – although if you look at pictures 36 and 37 in the link in her evening gown the pattern of the dress dictates that she should and highlights how much better her day dress could have looked. http://www.haz.de/Hannover/Fotostrecken-Hannover/Welfenhochzeit-So-schoen-war-die-Abendgarderobe#p37
There’s some interesting headwear on picture 22 – I can’t work out if its feathers or hair blowing in the breeze and then encased in netting. Would love to know your thoughts on that one and its construction. The rest of the outfit is head-scratchingly interesting as well.
Picture 22 shows a woman with a feather trimmed cocktail hat.
Thank you – I blew it up and it looked as if there was a cloud of very fine netting encasing everything. I don’t understand wearing it for an evening reception that probably involves a dinner but there you go.
It wasn’t that long ago that cocktail hats were widely worn for events over cocktail hour… maybe she was doing the same? It’s also clear this was a quirky crowd (not surprising for European nobility) and it’s just another quirky accessory in a sea of others.
HatQueen, thanks for that link back to your older post explaining cocktail hats! I only recently started reading your blog, and don’t have time to go back and read every single post from the past, but it’s nice to look at the ones that relate to current entries. (Including previous wearings of hats that have appeared again.)
No worries! I’ve been thinking we should add a few more entries to our hat types glossary this summer.
I think that pretty much covers it:)
My favorite hats are on the Margravine of Baden and Princess Elisabeth. My favorite looks are princess Sophie and the aforementioned Margravine (for traditional) and princess Elisabeth (for more quirky).
Sorry but that hat looks like a bread basket on her head.
Stunning bridal look!
It’s a rare day when I prefer Tatiana’s outfit to La Borromeo’s. I do see Edie’s point about it being a bit large for this type of event, though.
Sophie’s gray/magenta is a wonderful color combination.
I can only say that I am glad I was not the person sitting behind Tatiana Santo Domingo in the church. (Though it IS a wonderful hat.) It may be that the color of Beatrice Borromeo’s hat blends more perfectly with the color of her ensemble in person–the close ups looked better to me in that respect than those shots from further away. In some of the photos, the hat, while not my cup of tea in general, looks rather regal on her, in spite of the color.