Readers here will be familiar with regular commenter Jake, who is from Washington DC, USA. I’m so pleased to pass the reigns of Royal Hats over to him today! Welcome, Jake!
I can’t say for certain when my fascination with hats, especially royal hats, began, but it was either late high school or early university for me (circa 2006). Since then, my obsession and knowledge have steadily increased, and I’m glad to be a part of a community which holds the same appreciation I do for finer millinery and royalty. There used to be an old royal hats blog (where I remember JamesB frequently commenting) that eventually went defunct as the blogger pursued other interests; I unfortunately was not as lucky at JamesB to encounter HatQueen and Royal Hats so early (I’ve only been reading for 3 years), but I’m working on making up for lost time.
In no particular order, here are my top 10 choices for hats that need to make a comeback for HM Queen Elizabeth II.
1. This citrus green hat by Philip Somerville from 14 October 2004.
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2. The much loved pink swirl hat (I personally prefer it with a pink outfit) from the 26 November 2010 visit to Oman. Hat by Philip Somerville.
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3. This hat from Diana’s memorial service (31 August 2007) has always appealed to me for some reason; I think this particular shade of purple is very flattering on HM.
4. The Diamond Jubilee church service pale blue beaded hat from 5 June 2012. Hat by Angela Kelly
5. This black and white hat from 25 April 2015 (and earlier); I especially love the bow detailing on this hat. Hat by Philip Somerville.
6. This delightful coral and lavender hat from 17 Oct. 2007 (which also was subject to many memes haha).
7. The lime and gold hat she wore to meet Martin McGuinness; during my time in university, I spent a semester abroad in Derry, Northern Ireland (McGuinness’s hometown), and this hat has special meaning for me because I know how symbolically important their meeting was to many in Northern Ireland.
8. The blue lace hat from St. Paul’s 300th anniversary service on 21 June 2011. The details on this hat were exquisite and quite different from most of HM’s hats. Hat by Philip Somerville
9. This unusual color combo and shape for her visit to the UN and NYC on 6 July 2010; despite all the quirky features that haven’t worked so well on many other hats, I thought this one was a winner (and notice she is wearing a shorter jacket with this ensemble). Hat by Angela Kelly.
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10. Finally, this last one is extremely unlikely and I know popular opinion is against me, but I personally loved the highlighter green and fuchsia Rachel Trevor Morgan hat from 2016’s Trooping the Colour.
Royal Hats 
I love the Philip Somerville hats, especially the citrus green one!
great choice Jake!
Jake, lovely article. I very much appreciated that you chose photos of Her Majesty that are particularly flattering. Well done! Thanks for the reminder of some really remarkable hats all of which I’d love to see again. Even the lime green!
Many thanks everyone for your nice comments in agreement or disagreement! 😉 I had a lot of fun coming up with this list (and a little frustration too in narrowing it down haha), and I’m grateful to be a part of this hat-loving community.
Thanks, Jake, for this list. I’m in agreement with many that #1 is striking. I also like #3 and (8 in particular). rubywoo and I must be the only two people on the planet with reservations about the pink froth ( #2)!
Make it three of us on the pink swirl, Liz! We are certainly in the minority, aren’t we? The shape makes me think of a pith helmet, and I think the volume overwhelms HM. But I agree that #1 is striking and works better, as Baxter has pointed out, with the smaller brim. The coral and lavender is such an unexpected color combination, which make it fun!
Thanks so much, Jake!
What great choices! The only so-so one for me is #7 where I find the use of gold lace on the dress and coat collar and hat just too contrived. As jamiemid says the neon green would shine with say a black jacket and black floral dress using magenta and lime. HM is amazing as she glows in each of these outfits.
Some more interesting choices. The lilac and coral number is interesting isn’t it, I’m not 100% on board, but it’s quite fun. She had a few of these contrasting trim outfits, another in lemon and pale green.
And I’ve always loved the blue with the lace trim, it walks a really fine line between being pretty busy on the trim front, yet also well balanced; skilfully done.
My favorites are #1-3 and #5. These seem elegantly simple with clean lines and not a lot of extras. The pink one makes the Queen seem younger. The first hat is a different green than I have seen her in and is a perfect monochromatic look with just a hint of black on the hat…it looks great. The black and white one is very different and I love the contrast of those two colors.
#1 is also one of my favorites. I am not a fan of the many brim reductions we’ve seen lately on Rachel Trevor-Morgan hats, but when this hat was remodeled the result was an improvement. The crown was too high and the smaller brim is more appealing. I also love the small touch of black on the trim.
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Thanks, Baxter- I didn’t realize this hat was shaved down from its original outing. I agree- the smaller version is sharper and much more attractive. That snip of black above the hatband really sets it off.
Thanks for sharing, Jake! #8 is a lovely hat and I especially love the lattice brim. There are at least two others with similar brims and I wish we had seen them more often.
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Jake, what a wonderful collection. I particularly love everything about No 1 – the hat is just perfect and the outfit with the slightly shorter coat looks tremendous – why hasn’t this been seen again. Same goes for No 8. I love the outfit of No 4 but the hat seems so large. I also like No 9 and wish she’d opt for the jacket over dress combo a little more often than she does.
Jake, these are really great! I love the pink swirly one…and, of course, the #NeonAt90 green hat!
Jake, you’ve picked some real beauties here, and a couple of them are also on my list of favorites from the past! #3 purple, high crown and all, is a wonderful color for the queen. My favorites from your compilation are #1 green, and #8 blue/white lattice.
Thanks for a great line up, Jake. I admire greatly many of the hats in your list. Yes to larger brims and bow decorations! That first hat, even with its bold color, is such a timeless sophisticated style. And my favorite is probably the beautiful blue and white hat which is so light and uplifting in every sense. I also like the coral and lavender and the gold and green hats. They employ such pretty colors and feathery trim, and the upturned brims frame and light up the Queen’s face so well. It was a pleasure savoring these selections.
The first citrussy gat is really great and I particularly love the abstracted bow.
These are some great choices. I actually like them all, and would happily see them repeated endlessly. That being said, the last hat is so green that I wish she would wear a different colored outfit with it.
Good choices Jake! I especially love the citrus green and black and white, both by P Somerville, the quirky number 9 and I’m a fan of number 10 – fantastic colour. The only one I really don’t like is number 2, the pink – it looks a bit too marshmallow for me.
Oooh, the coral and lavendar one is lovely!! (no 6). I had never seen it before. Beautiful, complimentary colour scheme, light coming through the upswept brim, topped off with a very nice coat. I might just look back thru the archives to see some more. I think HM looks lovely here. Thanx Jake. These guest posts are great fun.