We turn our attention now to hats worn by members of the Gloucester and Kent families. First up is a millinery disguise of sorts from the Duchess of Gloucester who repeated her much worn straw taupe blocked beret hat (with stem). The hat is a familiar one and its outing today, wrapped in a swath of red net veil (I assume, to coordinate with her suit?) is unexpected and, dare I say, a bit odd. I love millinery experiments but in this case, I think this would have been best left in its original form.
Previously Worn: Jul 10, 2018; Mar 9, 2017; Jun 18, 2015; Jun 15, 2015; Nov 6, 2013; Jun 19, 2013; Jun 5, 2012
Previously Worn: I believe this is new
Zenouska Mowatt topped her bright pink midi length dress with a dark purple felt hat trimmed with an organza ruffle in the same pink as her dress. The colour mix of this ensemble is unexpected but the more I see it, the more I really like it. It’s a brave combinations of colours and materials not usually put together and makes a bold and very brave look for Zenouska.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1imX3HUwO/
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Princess Michael of Kent repeated her angular, pale grey pillbox with dramatic ostrich feather plume around the back.
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Designer: John Boyd
Previously Worn: June 13, 2015; Oct 18, 2014 ; Jun 16, 2014
Lady Frederick, whose young daughter Maud was one of the wee bridesmaids, paired her elegant aqua dress and coat with a wide, white ‘slice’ saucer hat trimmed with aqua ostrich feathers and dotted white tulle wrapped around the central crown of the hat.
Designer: Hat, dress and coat all by Catherine Walker
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Lady Gabriella Windsor was a vision in blue, topping her cereulean dress with a deep peacock(or cobalt?) felt hat with off-centered, peaked crown and gently sideswept brim. The shades of blue are not ones often paired together but, like Zenouska’s ensemble, work surprisingly really well. The turquoise earrings and pale blue clutch add other blue notes to the ensemble that contrast (rather than match), making for an interesting and unexpected ensemble that Gabriella wears, brilliantly. Hers is the next British royal wedding and I can’t wait to see her bridal style.
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Previously Worn: This hat is new
Royal Hats 
Other than the netting on DoGlo’s beanie, I think all these hats are lovely. The beanie itself is fine. I wonder that she didn’t plan for her red boater and then switch when they knew the wind would be an issue. Anyway, she looks great in red. Princess Mike is doing her usual, ok. Lady Helen looks lovely, the dress has a lot going on (I want to cut off the bow and cuffs) so a simple hat was best. I like Sophie’s hat, not something she usually goes for (looks more her MIL’s style) but it looks really nice on her. She and Freddie must have been so proud of Maud. I love that all the cousins seem to be close. Zenouska has a great fashion sense, she always comes out with something just a little bit unusual and always looks great. I wouldn’t have put these two colors together but I like them. (excellent handbag as well!) Lady Gabriella is my winner though. Everything about her ensemble sings an aria. I do hope we get good photos of her wedding.
Duchess of Gloucester wore a fabulous ensemble with great jewelry. But I laughed out loud when I saw her beanie with added net.
Contrary to popular opinion, she actually has worn some fabulous hats in her day.
She should have just worn one of these instead:
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I like that Birgitte tried to spice up this beret by adding the netting; I’m not certain it was her most successful hat moment, but I applaud the effort, and she looks fantastic in red. Although this was a missed opportunity to bring back out her beautiful emerald green straw boater!
A pretty tame look for Lady Helen considering many of her past millinery choices. Not a big fan of her bandeau, but she looked very well put together regardless.
Zenouska is certainly underrated as a royal hat wearer. So glad to see her continually being included in family events, and she wins again with this beautiful ensemble. More of this please!
I’ve sadly grown tired of Marie-Christine’s hats, although it has been a while since we last saw this one. A beautiful alternative choice would’ve been her pearl white large pillbox with Lady Amherst pheasant feathers swooping across the front (presumably by John Boyd); unfortunately I can’t find a good photo at the moment, but hope to return more successful!
Lady Sophie’s hat is a wonderful alternative to what she normally wears, although I would remove the veil netting and just have the hat trimmed in ostrich feathers.
Lady Gabriella was another favorite of the day. A simple hat in terms of trim, but it’s the colors of her whole ensemble the really make this work so well for her (I mean, it would also look good with a plain tee, denim jacket, and camel boots, but I digress . . .).
Where were the Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra?
The Duchess of Kent seldom attends events and it was announced that Princess Alexandra broke her arm and would not be able to attend.
Lady Gabriella Windsor is my favorite out of this bunch; I love the simple hat- the shape color and material are really allowed to shine.
DoGlo is my favorite of the extended windsors and it entertained me that she just plopped some netting over a tried and true hat. Especially one of her signature beanies- not exactly the right kind of hat to en-net.
I was actually surprised- if pressed I’d say that hats with netting was a fairly big trend today. Maybe I just noticed them more- but it seemed like there were more veiled hats/millinery/headpieces than usual. DoGlo of course, but also DoCam, who doesn’t usually have veils on her hats and Autumn Phillips (also in a hat that I wouldn’t have necessarily netted). Then add in a bunch of veiled hats in the guests, including Liv Tyler, Demi Moore, Sophia Wellesely, Poppy Delevigne, Cressida Bones, and Kate Moss and her daughter.
Are we having a hat netting renaissance or am I just cherry picking?
Veils certainly have been a trend on the catwalks lately; Stephen Jones did a lot of veiled berets. And the cute little green hat Lady Kitty Spencer wore for the Sussex wedding (by Philip Treacy) was such a hit, that it started a fashion of percher shapes with face hugging veils.
Lady Gabriella looked amazing. Her had was gorgeous and something Queen Maxima would covet. Her dress was beautiful and I thought she exuded understated elegance.
I always love to see Lady Helen at these family events. She always looks so excited to be there.
Zenouska Mowatt ‘s look was striking. I didn’t see her on tv coverage, so thank you Hat Queen for adding her!
Finally, Lady Frederick Windsor looked gorgeous. Very happy mother to a sweet flower girl. It’s great to see her in excellent form since her car accident.
Zenouska ‘s outfit might be my favourite of the day head to toe but I love Lady Helen’s very forties vibe, so unusual