King Philippe and Queen Mathilde spent the first of two days yesterday in Montreal, the francophone leg of their state visit to Canada. For their daytime program, which included visits to an aviation manufacturing facility with Belgian investment and a culinary school specializing in fine Belgian chocolate, Queen Mathilde wore a boldy patterned coat and dress with a vibrant orange new hat.
I think an orange hat was the right colour to pair with the strong print on the coat and dress and I adore that Queen Mathilde is brave enough to carry it off. The leaf trim, however, looks unnecessarily clunky and sets the piece off balance for me. If you look at the middle picture above, you’ll also see that the quality of sewing under leaves is really poor. On this occasion- a foreign tour at the end of winter- I think a full pillbox with closed crown and some type of embellishment might have been a better option.
Royal Hats 
Weird and unbalanced and I’m sure it was expensive. What a shame.
I agree with everyone so far. I thought this a perfect choice with that remarkable coatdress, at first. The simple shape and vibrant colour held their own beautifully. The back of the hat, however, was a letdown.
When I saw the first pictures I was excited. Then I saw the back. What a dissapointment… Seeing how poorly finished those leafs are on the inside only made it worse. Such a shame because the color is great.
I don’t hate open toppers as much as others do, but agree this one isn’t well finished. Shame as the colour is fab and well paired with that fab coat.
I agree with you all, the colour is right, but the shape is unnecessary complicated. In one of the pictures one can see the inside of the hat, and the fabric seems to be very roughly sewn around the petals (not silk I think, probably some kind of jersey) and rather coarsly finished, wich is unheard of in couture millinery. It almost looks as if it were a last minute job, but even then … what a pity!
I agree the color is an excellent choice in pairing with this outfit, but the design is not well done on this hat. For me, it looks like it could fall off the back of her head at any minute. I also agree a closed crown pillbox would’ve been a better choice, and then the leaves wouldn’t be left suspended in the air so awkwardly; but also, the leaves don’t look to be done very well anyhow, so I would choose a trim that is smaller and more refined rather than these large fabric-covered petals. I want to like this, but the overall hat just falls too short for me.
This hat would have worked for me if the crown had been closed.