to a June 21, 1986 visit by Princess Anne to Toronto. The Duchess of Gloucester wasn’t the only British royal to use large headbands in place of hats for a brief window in the mid 1980s. This one is all kinds of citrusy, aerobic, 1980s, goodness.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Photo from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
By the time H.R.H. wore this outfit to attend The Derby, two years later, in 1988, she was wearing a ‘proper’ hat! By chance, she and The Queen were in almost identical shades of yellow!
Richard, you have a great memory!
HQ: We haven’t had a good “caption this” in a while!
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Princess Michael: “When they advertised these bloomin’ binoculars as the world’s smallest, they were right!”
Princess Anne: “Look mum, there’s the bloke who told me you’d be wearing blue today!”
Queen Elizabeth: “Look Anne, that’s the same bloke who told me you got a real hat for that coat!”
Queen mother: “Let’s see, I do hope salmon is on the menu today.”
Anne and QE: “Isn’t that the horse owned by that Russian billionaire?”
Princess Michael: “Russian billionaire?! WHERE?!”
Queen Mother: “Let’s see, I do hope salmon is on the menu today.”
Princess Michael: “What? Diana’s hat today can’t possibly be bigger than mine!”
Princess Anne and The Queen (excitedly and over top of one another): ”…yearling…bloodline… muscle… fast… trainer…. mare… thoroughbred… jockey… contractile fiber… sire… gallop…owner….strong… BHA… yards… breed…”
Queen Mother: “Let’s see, I do hope salmon is on the menu today.”
Hilarious, everyone — well done!
Well, a statement look for sure…middle eastern or something worn in the movie Flashdance. Oh how she looks so young but she hasn’t changed her hairstyle since. It is colorful but I really hope we don’t see it again!
Totally awesome flashback! Thanks so much!
Well remembered HQ! I’d forgotten all about this hat — thanks for posting it.
P. Anne looks so lovely in these pics.
I’m surprised at how much I like this hat. It fits beautifully with the signature Princess Royal hairstyle, as both are simple sculptural shapes. The formal updo also stops the hat automatically looking sweatband-y/bohemian or Middle Eastern. I doubt the hat would suit Anne’s taste today — but I can easily imagine gypsies-at-heart such as Tatiana Santo Domingo wearing this hat with a maxi dress and long flowing hair.
Mette-Marit too with her love of prairie dresses and substituting hairbands for hats.
In the 80’s that would have been so beautiful!
Let’s hope she doesn’t spring this one on us again. I bet it’s still lurking in her closet.
Um, no, just no!
Very vibrant colors but let’s not remind her she still has that hat! I wouldn’t mind the outfit being repeated but only with a modern hat.
Somehow this works! It almost looks like a rolled up scarf (perhaps with something inside for structure?). Have we seen this outfit repeated?
In the first picture, it’s hard telling whether the crowd is laughing with/at Princess Anne. Her hair style hasn’t changed in 30 years!
The bad news is that it’s awful even for the 80s. The good news is that Anne probably won’t resurrect this one from the back of the closet! The colors do look great on her though
Well, it’s different! The colours are vibrant and P Anne looks rather fetching!
Oh. My. God. She looks kinda fabulous actually, it’s very out there for Anne, so I can’t help loving it.
And has she had her updo done over the band at the back? It looks like it. I hope she decides to rescue this from the closet; I’d possibly die laughing though….
Well, I don’t like it but it’s of its time. Now that Beatrice Borromeo has made these headbands a thing perhaps Anne will find hers at the back of the cupboard because as sure as eggs is eggs she still has this somewhere. The colours suit her well and she looks so young, fresh and smiley that she can be forgiven the 80s aberration.
Beatrice Borromeo wearing one crownless hat has hardly made them a thing. Look how many Queen Maxima, Queen Mathilde and Queen Silvia have worn over the past 5 years!!!
Very true – but when a much younger fashionista does it I think more people sit up and take notice. Looking at Beatrice again – I think it would have looked better and much more balanced if her hair had been shorter. When its Maxima or Mathilde wearing this style I just shrug and think it’s something popped on to top off a Natan outfit. I’d really rather follow something seen on BB than Maxima or Mathilde whether it’s hats, coats, shoes or frocks.