Queen Elizabeth attended St. Mary Magdalene Church near her Sandringham estate Sunday morning, joined by a handful of family members. For this outing, the Queen repeated her magenta silk wool covered boater hat with lavender-grey straw brim base, trimmed with grey straw twisting leaves, white silk tulips and silver-stemmed faux winter berries.
The colour remains wonderful on Her Majesty (and is so cheery on a bleary winter day) and that unexpected contrast of colour and texture on the underside of the brim adds such dimension and lightness. I wish the trim was a little more streamlined but even that has grown on me. The Queen wears so many hats with upturned or sidesweeping brims, it’s nice to see her in straight boater every once in a while.
Embed from Getty ImagesPreviously Worn: Jan 1, 2017; Jan 3, 2016; Aug 16, 2015; Dec 29, 2013
Designer of Princess Anne’s hat: Amy Morris-Adams
Previously Worn: Aug 26, 2018; March 16, 2018
Royal Hats 
I’d like to add my New Year wishes to all participants and blog readers, and my thanks to Hat Queen for her devotion to this wonderful place on the Internet that we all enjoy so much!
I like all of these hats, particularly the bright colors of HM and the Princess Royal to brighten up a winter’s day, and also the Countess of Wessex for wearing her hat this time with a lighter color jacket — I found it very drab when she paired it with a navy coat in previous wearings. One question about this navy trilby, specifically the August 2015 photo — wouldn’t a felt hat be too wintry for August? I tried doing a Google image search on that specific photo but couldn’t find it linked to any event.
The original source for that August 2015 photo has been removed, unfortunately. The hat was worn to Crathie Church during a stay at Balmoral- while felt is a little unusual for summer, northern Scotland can be rather chilly even at that time of year.
Thanks for the update, HatQueen. I actually was in Scotland in July of 1979 and remember how unexpectedly cold it was. I still have a couple of the wool things I had to buy to get through the week!
Happy New Year to all, especially new commenters like Carol; you are most welcome! And a million thanks to HatQueen for a wonderful 2018, and hoping for more great things in 2019.
As for this trio, nothing truly stands out to me, although they are all fine hats and good looks. Anne is the winner here IMO, although I do wish she would try pairing this hat with some coats of other colors (grey, black, or navy are what come to mind for me).
A great trio indeed. I’ve never minded the trim on HM’s boater; it was quite sparse when it was first debuted but it had a bit of a rearrange a few years back and it was for the better.
Anne and Sophie both look fab, this 70’s funk look on Anne is soooo good on her!
I really don’t think that hat on Princess Anne could be improved – it’s Just Right on her.
The Countess of Wessex’s hat seems a bit dull to me, but the other two hats are excellent. I particularly like the fact that the Queen’s hat has a contrasting color underneath the brim.
I will look forward to your comments, Carol. Sometimes there are so many comments by the time I read the post I have nothing to add. I love reading everyone’s comments, though!
I do like the Queen’s hat, I like to see a variety of shapes and am glad to see this shape versus some of the more unusual ones. I don’t mind the grey. It is a nice contrast to the magenta and there is not too much of it. The trim is a bit messy, but it doesn’t take away from the overall look of the hat IMHO.
I had a hard time finding a good picture of the Countess of Wessex’s fedora. I like the change from her percher hats even if it isn’t a particularly exciting hat.
Anne’s hat is beautiful! I love the color, shape, and trim. I am glad I like it as I am likely to see it for years to come! 🙂
Welcome Carol. Although an avid reader, I’m only an intermittent commenter – when time allows and the hats move me! 🙂 There are so many wonderfully knowledgeable people here making it a fascinating place to be and Hat Queen does such marvellous work at keeping us up-to-date. My best wishes for a Happy New Year to you, Hat Queen and all other readers.
So true about all the wonderfully knowledgeable people. It is intimidating at times, but I figure my opinion counts, too as I’m learning from others! I, too would like to add my best wishes for a Happy New Year to all on this blog and especially to you, dear HatQueen, for all you do to make this an enjoyable place to be!
I’m not sure how many years I’ve been reading, but it didn’t take long to figure out how knowledgeable the people here are, especially the HatQueen! I appreciate all of the work that goes into it.
Thank you!
I do like the Queen’s hat, although I’m not sure I like the grey with her colouring (although it may be better in-person rather than on-screen). The trilby is okay. The fedora is such a great hat for Princess Anne; it’s made me smile every time I’ve seen her wearing it.
(I’m going to try to comment more often, even if it’s just something basic, rather than merely reading and lurking. Happy 2019 to all!)
I understand lurking completely but you are most welcome to join the conversation!
Thanks, to you and others who have welcomed me!