As she has done with her other grandchildren’s weddings, Queen Elizabeth celebrated Princess Eugenie’s nuptials today with a new hat. In palest ice blue felt, the design features a straight-sided crown with stepped top and slightly sidesweeping, upturned kettle brim. The hat’s ecru feather and gold quill trim links to the ensemble’s dress in the same hues (and the gold buttons on the coat); its slightly clunky shape is mitigated by the light trim and while I might have preferred Her Majesty in a more saturated tone, this restrained shade works well.
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Designer: Angela Kelly. Coat and dress by Stewart Parvin
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Sarah, Duchess of York, topped her green silk dress with a wide brimmed straw boater hat in the same colour. The hat is trimmed with a striped tan, copper and green straw bow described by the milliner as “an enormous stiff bow which nodded to her Eighties taste, in a sharp, modern way.”
While the bow does have a wing-like feel to it, it seems like just the thing the Duchess would choose. The bow was clearly made to coordinate with Sarah’s Manolo Blahnik clutch – the same purse her mother, the late Susan Barrantes used at the Duke and Duchess of York’s own wedding in July 1986. Unfortunately, the green straw and silk dress don’t read as the same shade in all photographs- likely a lighting issue (I strongly suspect they were matched in reality). It’s a bold look with sentimental touches for Sarah that feels authentic to her taste and she wears it well.
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Designer: Jess Collett. Dress by Emma Louise Design.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Sarah’s sister (Eugenie’s aunt) Jane Luedecke wore a striking navy felt picture hat with red and navy knotted bows.
Princess Beatrice topped her royal purple suit with a matching bandeau headpiece in two shades of purple draped silk.
While the smaller headpiece is a good scale for the collared neckline of the suit, the overall ensemble feels a bit lackluster. It’s nice… but not memorable. Maybe that’s what she was going for?
Designer: Sarah Cant. Suit by Ralph & Russo
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Jack’s mother, Nicola Brooksbank, topped her floral coat and dress with a natural straw upswept saucer hat embellished with beige silk abaca bows and orange trimmed feathers. I believe Jack’s maternal grandmother, 91-year-old Joanna Newton, was also in attendance- I’ll add photos here if they become available.
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Designer: Iona Montgomery. Coat and dress by Stewart Parvin
At many royal weddings, non-royal family members sometimes stick out but I thought Mrs. Brooksbank held her own very well in this group of hats. What do you think of these designs?
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Love Mia Tindell’s posture and facial expression in the group photo!
I liked Mrs Brookbank’s outfit and thought she held her own nicely in the elevated company she found herself in. But I didn’t like the fact that the curls on the underbrim of her hat were almost the same colour as her hair! Threw me for a bit.
Thanks so much for including some photos of Sarah’s sister Jane. I missed her while watching the live stream but thought she would have been there. Here are some photos of Sarah’s half-sister Eliza (Cobb) and her mother. Was Alice (Stileman) there too? I haven’t seen any pix yet.
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Brilliant! Eliza’s mother is Susan, Lady Swinburn (in the navy coat and lace dress). I imagine Eliza’s sister Alice was there as well…
I wondered who that was, wearing a very 1980s and Fergiemania inspired outfit and matching hat! Beautiful colors, but having matching fabric on the hat (especially on the under-brim) was too much for me; an all-navy blue hat would’ve been a better choice. And Sarah’s sister Jane is wearing a beautiful hat, but it looks to be placed to far forward and should be given just a bit of a jaunty angle to perfect the look.
It is being suggested in the press that Eliza’s outfit was a tribute to Diana’s outfit at Sarah and Andrew’s wedding. A photo of Diana at Sarah’s wedding can be seen in this article:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/g21966262/sarah-ferguson-prince-andrew-wedding/?slide=4
Diana also had a different turquoise polka dotted dress with a bow at the neck and a matching polka dotted hat much like Eliza’s, worn to Ascot in 1986, which can be seen in this article:
https://hotnews24h.info/enprincess-eugenie-wedding-guest-looks-exactly-like-princess-diana-who-is-she/
(scroll down to the second photo, the first one is obviously photoshopped!)
And then the 3rd photo in the above article shows Sarah herself in a similar dress and hat. So I don’t know if this was a tribute to Diana, but it was certainly a tribute to the 80s!
The Daily Express has compared Eliza’s outfit to one of Diana’s, but not managed to find a name for Eliza!
The Duchess of York’s boater doesn’t quite work to my eye. The crown looks too small for her head, and the exaggerated bow is rather comical.
The second color in Beatrice’s bandeau adds interest, but I agree with HatQueen that it does not make for an exciting ensemble.
Nicely done, Mrs. Brooksbank!
Was expecting HM to be in a bright color, maybe blue, based on her choices in Balmoral the last weeks. But it makes sense that she went pale seeing the color scheme of the wedding party and the rest of the family. I like the floof on her hat and the gold trim very much. It has a balance to it. I’m not sure about the gold buttons on the coat, however. Good tie coordination on the DoE 😀
Sarah’s ensemble and hat felt very much her but as you say, updated. I also feel like she reined it in from her usual tendency to go overboard so as to let her daughters shine. I like this on her a lot.
Bea looks amazing. Based on Kate’s recent choices and what I saw on the guests, headband hats are having a revival. This is a great scale for Bea, the two colors and pleating add interest and it’s not over the top. Supporting family member, it says. But says it beautifully. This color is really wonderful on her. The suit is fabulous.
Mrs. Brooksbank looked absolutely lovely. I would have looked at that fabric on the bolt and said, no that’s too overwhelming for a coat. Which is why I don’t design clothes, because it’s wonderful and I would wear it in a heartbeat. Her hat picks up the colors without being too matchy and it’s a great shape for her face and haircut.
I wasn’t certain if I liked HM’s hat and outfit at first, especially because the colors are pretty washed out, but it’s definitely grown on me and is my second favorite of the grandchildren’s wedding hats (after the one she wore to Zara’s wedding). While not my favorite shape, especially with the brim, overall it is well designed, trimmed, and coordinated. It also feels like an early fall cousin to this hat:
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Sarah certainly wowed us today, and I love it! Definitely brings back some nostalgia of her early royal hat days, but gives it a modern twist. The jade green is an absolutely beautiful color for her, and the neckline on her dress works very well with the wideness of the brim. I did not know the fact about the clutch, so thanks HatQueen for including it! Definitely a favorite of the day, and I have a lot of them!
Beatrice’s whole look was great, but I agree this bandeau headpiece just underwhelms me. I was glad for the choice of very saturated colors, and that violet was layered on top of the purple-blue so everything wasn’t monochrome.
I agree with others that the angle of Nicola’s hat could be better, but overall I think it was a great coordinating piece that didn’t feel too “matchy” with her outfit. P.S., how great would Jack’s father George look in a top hat here? Missed opportunity.
All four of the women looked lovely, exactly as the family of the bride ought to. The feather trim on HM’s hat is fun and airy, and coordinates well with the buttons on her coat, which is a good thing — I’ve never really been a fan in general of the idea of justifying the contrasting color trim on any of her hats on the grounds that it matches a dress that we can scarcely see. But I love this beautiful yet restrained color for the outfit — perfect for the occasion.
Duchess of York — green is definitely her color, and that bow must indeed be stiff considering that even in that wind, it never even fluttered! I also thought the hat looked particularly good with her hair up. Regarding the shade of green, on my TV set the outfit looked much greener than it does in any of these photos, which have a bit more of the blue-green tones. Green is a particularly tough shade to photograph, so I suspect that each one of us saw it differently.
Princess Beatrice — great suit, but with that wide neck, a larger (wider?) hat might definitely have been in order. But the color is fantastic on her and a good choice. (Wondering if anyone will decide that the outfit is too “matchy”.)
Mrs. Brooksbank looked terrified every time the camera fell on her — I keep imagining what it must have been like the first time Jack came home to tell his parents that he met someone and then told them who she was! I agree with Shannon that the hat should have been worn a bit more upright, and I would have liked it better if the trim had picked up a bit more of the other colors in her dress (or been totally those colors) — despite the many colors in the dress, the outfit as a whole reads a bit too beige for me. But I’m sure that allowances must be made for the non-royal family members, most likely having many fewer occasions when they need to select hats.
I would like to see the Queen’s outfit firsthand…it appears colour wise a bit washed out but I am wondering if that is true in real life. Hard to see the gold..trim..and buttons…that makes me think the colours are off.
Fergie looked great. Hat had an original touch to it. On the tv the colour of the outfit was much paler..I actually prefer the deeper emerald colour…hope it was the deeper colour.
Princess Beatrice dress…suit was fantastic…the hat was a bit low key for her and larger would have helped her outfit. Excellent colour.
The groom’s mom was nicely dressed. The hat had some colour in the trim but more would have been a bit better.
Waiting to see more pictures, then the real colours might show.
The queen’s hat is nice. I really like the autumnal hued trim, it seems very balanced, I like the feathery flower combined with the sweeping pokey elements (not sure what they are).
I adore Sarah’s green hat and ensemble. I’m not usually a boater fan, but this looked lovely. Good size, (which helps look more formal), gorgeous color, and I love the bow. It was by far the standout hat today IMO.
I loved P. Beatrice’s suit, but I thought her hat was a missed opportunity. It’s fine but not remarkable.
Mrs. Brooksbank looked lovely, I especially like her printed coat dress. The hat is nice too, my preference would have been for a slightly more upright angle and a slightly more saturated color (it matches her lovely hair a bit too much IMO).