Members of the British royal family attended the annual Remembrance Day commemoration service at The Cenotaph at Whitehall in London yesterday. For the first time, the task of laying Her Majesty’s wreath was passed to the Prince of Wales while Queen Elizabeth watched above from a balcony in the Foreign Office.
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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: This hat is new
The Duke of Edinburgh, as his sons and grandsons, wore military uniform complete with cap.
The Duchess of Cornwall repeated her back straw picture hat with upswept brim and oversized black ostrich feather wrapped around the crown.
Previously Worn: May 12, 2015; Feb 4, 2015; Nov 20, 2014; Nov 9, 2014; May 1, 2014; Nov 11, 2012; Nov 12, 2011; Nov 9, 2008
The Countess of Wessex wore a new design, a black felt saucer shape with upfolded back, trimmed with a large felt bow and two black feathers. A second bow wraps around the raised back of the piece.
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
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Royal Hats 
HM’s hat is quite lovely and I enjoy the subtle details, especially the ridges on the top of the crown. For me, HM’s black hats have really been hit or miss, and this is a hit!
Despite it being one of Camilla’s most repeated hats, I thought she looked especially elegant during this outing; I think her coat really helped elevate this hat, and it was nice to see her pay tribute to her father’s regiment by wearing their pin.
Kate looks exquisite with this new hairstyle and this repeated Treacy hat, which I’ve always been surprised she hasn’t worn more often.
I also thought Sophie looked wonderful in this new saucer cocktail hat, which pairs well with this dress. That said, I don’t think the dress was appropriate for this occasion, with the blue in it being very obvious against the all black of everyone else’s outfits.
It’s nice to have a better view of Alexandra’s hat this time; these photos do it more justice than those from the Countess Mountbatten of Burma’s funeral. I do like this one a lot, especially with the large velvet flower, but the overall idea doesn’t stray from Alexandra’s usual hat style.
Being a slow evening, I thought I’d do a little research, and I hope you don’t mind. I looked back at some past Remembrance Day hats, and discovered something rather interesting. Several hats were repeated for this November occasion.
1974, 1975, 1982, 2002
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2003, 2006
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2004, 2007, 2013
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A NEW one to me, from 1994
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1995
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2005
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Mind? Never! It’s interesting- the Queen never wears black hats for regular events (she has fewer black hats in rotation than Queen Maxima does!). Her black hats only come out for Remembrance Sunday and funerals so they are seldom worn. It makes sense, in light of this, that we’d see the same ones repeated at this event over the years.
This talk of black hats is making me think we might need to delve into a few other millinery closets and look at the black hat inventories of some other queens. What do you say?
A hat inventory is ALWAYS a good idea —can’t wait, HQ.
Jimbo, the hat worn in 1994 was 30 years old! It was worn to the funeral of the Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood in 1965. Back then the pom pom on the top was much pouffier! I’ll see if I can find a pic.
Baxter: What a memory! I don’t remember what I had for dinner last night!
Check out :30 and 1:30. Funeral videos are always nice at this time of year!
Thanks for the pic and video, Jimbo. The coat seen at Princess Mary’s funeral was also worn for many years. Here on the left is HM while in mourning for her father in February 1952 and at right on Remembrance Day in 1993, over 40 years later .
http://tinypic.com/r/28aotc8/9
I agree with one of the above comments that all of these hats are fantastic! Kate’s is very clean and modern and I LOVE her hair. P. Alexandra’s and Camilla’s hats look very Edwardian….wonderful!
Kate’s hat IS clean and modern, despite being at least 11 years old! I think that speaks to the strength of its design.
I think this is the best Remembrance Day appearance for Duchess Kate. I also like the Queen’s and Countess Sophie’s hats. However I think that Duchess Camilla’s and Princess Alexandra’s hats are not just heavy looking, but messy and old fashioned. It’s time for something new ladies!
Even though nearly all the hats were repeats, I loved them all. The royal ladies all looked marvelous, and I too found the Queen wiping her eye, very touching. Great photos.
I went back to the Black Hat Inventory of HM, and found FOUR very similarly shaped examples, and a close cousin with the Queen Mother funeral hat of 2002. I agree with Glitter Girl – the scale of the hat is very nice, however, I still like the 2015 Remembrance Sunday hat better. Also, the D of C looked beautiful. I’m sensing that I’ll be in the minority camp with my next comment: I don’t like the fluffy veils on many of Princess Alexandra’s hats, this black one included. Yes, they are very Edwardian and elaborate, but they appear to visually weigh her down.
I do not remember a time when I adored each and every hat. In this case I certainly do. Even the one on the young Queen in the Sky ad. Hat Queen has described them all beautifully. The way she has presented this wonderful array of hats is perfect.
We get to see the hats here from different angles; a bonus! They are all just right for the occasion. I agree with Glitter Girl that the Duchess of Cambridge’s hat and hairstyle are particularly fetching.
My two favourite hats are Her Majesty’s (I love the scale of this hat on her) and The Duchess of Cambridge’s hat. She wears a large hat well, and her coiffure is perfection. I find the photo of the Queen dabbing her eyes very moving, as I am sure most of us do.
The reporter at the DM, usually a paper to ascribe emotion at the drop of a, ahem, hat, suggests HM’s tears were caused only by the bitterly cold wind.